Temperature dependence of the dielectric function of dehydrated biological samples in the THz band

Based on its high sensitivity to the presence of water, terahertz radiation has introduced itself as a suitable source for the study of biological tissue and the diagnosis of some medical conditions. As shown in previous publications, the water content of a given system can be calculated by approximating the tissue with effective medium theories. Within these models, the optical behavior of water is a well-known temperature dependent parameter, whereas the behavior of the dry tissue has been traditionally assumed to be temperature independent. In this study we show with the usage of a self-designed heat chamber that the dielectric functions of various biological tissues as porcine skin, oak leaf and brown mushroom show between 20 degrees C and 36.5 degrees C indeed some variations based on their respective temperatures, which might indicate that this parameter cannot always be neglected in the analysis models.