Abstract
In this paper, as an application in biometrics, the electrical capacitance of normal and cancerous blood samples is experimentally determined in order to test the null hypothesis that the electrical capacitance of the two samples differs. The samples taken from healthy donors and patients diagnosed with different types of hematologic cancer are examined by a cylindrical capacitor with blood as its dielectric. The capacitance of these samples is measured at room temperature and a single frequency of 120 Hz, well below the frequency where β -dispersion starts, using a simple LCR meter device. The measurements indicate that the capacitance of the blood increases under applied electric field for a short period of time and asymptotically reaches its steady-state value. The measured values for the healthy group agreed with previous data in the literature. By the use of the unpaired two-tailed T-test, it is found that cancerous blood has higher values of capacitance when compared to normal samples ( p < 0.05 ). The reasons that might lead to such alterations are discussed from a biological perspective. Moreover, based on correlation calculations, a strong negative association is observed between blood capacitance and red blood cell (RBC) count in each group. Furthermore, sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) analysis demonstrates that for a threshold value between 15 and 17 for the capacitance value, both SE and SP are 100%. These preliminary findings on capacitance values may pave the way for the development of inexpensive and easy-to-use diagnosis tools for hematologic cancers at medical facilities and for in-home use, especially for children.
Highlights
The electrical properties of human blood, including its cells, can be representative of abnormalities in the body
A cylindrical capacitor was built to measure the capacitance of the samples as follows: Two acrylic cylinders with diameters of a = 1.5 cm and b = 2.1 cm and equal heights of h0 = 1.5 cm were concentrically pasted to a wooden base using chloroform
Considering all the previous evidence on the electrical differences between normal and abnormal cells, this paper focused on using the electrical capacitance as an indicator of the electrical changes in cancerous blood samples, on a macroscopic scale
Summary
The electrical properties of human blood, including its cells, can be representative of abnormalities in the body. The investigation of these properties has received much interest during the last few decades Both the electrical and mechanical properties of blood are functions of the combined effects of hormones, vitamins, ions, glucose, bacteria, proteins, oxygen, and other chemicals that compose it. Diseases are usually accompanied by changes in the level or function of these factors, which, in turn, could alter the electrical properties of their environment. Knowledge of these properties can open up new avenues for the prognosis and treatment of different diseases, as well as for understanding biological processes on microscopic and macroscopic levels. In a review by Xu et al on impedance techniques for live biological cells, three main methods were identified: (1) impedance flow cytometry, (2) cell substrate impedance sensing, and (3) impedance
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