ICMWIA: Ciências ULisboa welcomes experts in microwave medical imaging

There is always a first time for almost everything, and the first International Conference on Medical Microwave Imaging Applications (ICMWIA) fulfilled this well-known rule on Tuesday morning by bringing together researchers in the field of microwave medical diagnostics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa). The three-day programme includes lectures by renowned figures in the sector, tutorials for early-career researchers, and several presentations that showcase prototypes currently under development in university laboratories, as well as encouraging scientists to reflect on some of the main challenges in biomedical engineering.

“During this event, we will witness an exchange of ideas that could help improve the technology that has been developed. Eventually, this exchange of ideas could lead to the development of new medical diagnostic devices,” says Raquel Cruz Conceição, coordinator of the Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering (IBEB) and one of the main organisers of this conference, which has just arrived at Ciências ULisboa. “We will repeat (the conference) next year! And we expect to grow this conference beyond the initial project that gave rise to it,” adds the researcher, who is also a professor at Ciências ULisboa.

The first ICMWIA was organised in partnership with Ciências ULisboa, the FCiências.ID association, the University of Galway, Ireland, and the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy. In addition to Raquel Cruz Conceição, the conference is chaired by Daniela Godinho, a researcher at IBEB.

The event arose within the scope of the 3BAtwin project, which has been coordinated by Ciências ULisboa and FCiências.ID with the aim of promoting the transmission of knowledge and the analysis of the latest technological trends within the research community. With the conference, this sharing of knowledge not only gained in terms of internationalisation, through the presentation of 22 scientific articles from 11 countries, but may also have taken a first step towards attracting more professionals and researchers working with medical diagnostic systems.

During the ICMWIA, lectures will focus on the development of systems operating at frequencies between 500 MHz and 8 GHz. With this radio frequency band, researchers are able to develop devices that allow images of the inside of the human body to be reconstructed - among many other solutions that could be beneficial to the health sector. In addition to being an untapped resource, this frequency range is distinguished by involving fewer risks than other known diagnostic technologies.

‘Microwave devices are safe because they use electromagnetic waves with non-ionising frequencies and a very low power level. Therefore, they do not alter the molecular structure of cells or cause tissue heating. And that is why they are safer,’ explains Raquel Cruz Conceição.

The IBEB coordinator points out that the new conference has already begun to fulfil its purpose of sharing knowledge, with doctoral students accounting for a quarter of the expected attendance. 3BAtwin is scheduled to end in 2027, but Raquel Cruz Conceição does not rule out what may happen after that: ‘Let's hope that this conference will be a legacy of the project.’ The prognosis is made.