Studies of dielectric properties of mammalian tissues after gamma-irradiation

In vitro dielectric measurements (relative permeability and conductivity) of excised liver, kidney, cardiac muscle, spleen and eye of rabbits, were carried out at frequencies of 1-250 kHz and at room temperature. These were done before, immediately and 7 days after gamma irradiation at doses 1-5 Gy. The obtained results indicated significant increase in both relative permittivity and conductivity of tissues at higher doses immediately after irradiation. After 7 days, the changes showed some recovery, more obvious at lower doses. These changes in dielectric properties, after irradiation, may reflect the particular biological organization of each tissue and some mechanisms of radiation damage to these tissues particular to cell membrane, counter-ion polarization associated with intrinsic membrane charges and conductive transport in extracellular medium. This may help to elucidate the mechanisms of variations of the dielectric properties of different tissues under the effect of radiation. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd