The authors present transmission data, taken at Ka (36GHz) and W (95 GHz) bands in
the millimetre-wave region of the electromagnetic spectrum, for various dressing materials used in the
treatment and management of burn wounds. The results show that such materials are highly transparent
(typically > 90% transmission) and, in their dry state, will permit the sensing of the surface of the skin
through the thick layers (> 2 cm) of different dressings typically applied in medical treatment of burn
wounds. Furthermore, the authors present emissivity data, taken at the same frequency bands, for
different regions of human skin on the arm and for samples of chicken flesh with and without skin
and before and after localised heat treatment. In vivo human skin has a lower emissivity than chicken
flesh samples, 0.3–0.5 compared to 0.6–0.7. However, changes in surface emissivity of chicken samples
caused by the short-term application of heat are observable through dressing materials, indicating the
feasibility of a millimetre-wave imaging to map changes in tissue emissivity for monitoring the state of
burn wounds (and possibly other wounds) non-invasively and without necessitating the removal of the
wound dressings.