Work

Towards Seeing Bones at Radio Frequency

Year: 2026

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Wireless sensing literature has long aspired to achieve X-ray-like vision at radio frequencies. Yet, state-of-the-art wireless sensing literature has yet to generate the archetypal X-ray image: one of the bones beneath flesh. In this paper, we explore OssiSense, a penetration-based RF-imaging system for imaging bones at mm-resolution, one that significantly exceeds prior penetration-based RF imaging literature. Indeed the long wavelength, significant attenuation and complex diffraction that occur as RF propagates through flesh, have long limited imaging resolution (to several centimeters at best). We address these concerns through a novel penetration-based synthetic aperture algorithm, coupled with a learning-based pipeline to correct for diffraction-induced artifacts. A detailed evaluation of meat models demonstrates a resolution improvement from sub-decimeter to sub-centimeter over prior art in RF penetrative imaging.

Source: International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services

DOI: 10.1145/3745756.3809223

Authors: Yiwen Song, Hongyang Li, Kuang Yuan, Ran Bi, Swarun Kumar

Institutions: Carnegie Mellon University, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Microwave Imaging and Scattering Analysis

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Science Foundation

Awards: Collaborative Research: CNS: Medium: Energy Centric Wireless Sensor Node System for Smart Farms, CPS: Frontier: Software-Defined Nanosatellite Constellations: The Foundation of Future Space-Based Cyber-physical Systems, Towards Software-Defined Soft Robotic Antennas for Spectrum Era 4, CAREER: Pushing the Limits of Low-Power Wide-Area Networks