title: A Microwave Ring-Resonator Sensor for Non-Invasive Assessment of Meat Aging.
abstract: The assessment of moisture loss from meat during the aging period is a critical issue for the meat industry. In this article, a non-invasive microwave ring-resonator sensor is presented to evaluate the moisture content, or more precisely water holding capacity (WHC) of broiler meat over a four-week period. The developed sensor has shown significant changes in its resonance frequency and return loss due to reduction in WHC in the studied duration. The obtained results are also confirmed by physical measurements. Further, these results are evaluated using the Fricke model, which provides a good fit for electric circuit components in biological tissue. Significant changes were observed in membrane integrity, where the corresponding capacitance decreases 30% in the early aging (0D-7D) period. Similarly, the losses associated with intracellular and extracellular fluids exhibit changed up to 42% and 53%, respectively. Ultimately, empirical polynomial models are developed to predict the electrical component values for a better understanding of aging effects. The measured and calculated values are found to be in good agreement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia. mtaha.jilani@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad Taha
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Jilnai
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia. wong_pengwen@petronas.com.my.
authors.forename: Wong Peng
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Fundamental and Applied Science, University Technology PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia. lee_yencheong@petronas.com.my.
authors.forename: Lee Yen
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia. zakarahman@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad Zaka
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: ur Rehman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards*; D008872:Microwaves; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: biosensor; complex permittivity; dielectric properties; dielectric spectroscopy; meat quality; microstrip ring-resonator; microwave sensor