Methods and systems for determining fluid content of tissue

1. A diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

one or more antennas each configured to be disposed on a thorax of a living body so as to direct radio frequency (RF) waves through a lung in the body and to output signals responsively to RF waves that have passed through the lung and reflected from the heart;

at least one pacing electrode configured to apply a pacing signal to heart; and

processing circuitry configured to process the signals over time to:

process the RF signals over time so as to measure a movement of the heart, and drive the at least one pacing electrode so as to pace the heart responsively to the measured movement.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is additionally configured to at least one of:

determine at least one of an amplitude and a delay of the RF electromagnetic waves reflected from the heart, and

compare the at least one of the amplitude and the delay of the RF electromagnetic waves reflected from the heart.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a conductive element configured to receive electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the outer surface of the body.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a communication interface for wirelessly communicating with a remote device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a package which contains the antenna and processing the circuitry and is configured to be affixed as a patch to an outer surface of the body.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a coupling material having a predetermined dielectric constant.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the coupling material is configured as one of a gel and an adhesive.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device, the commands configured for operating the apparatus.

9. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the signals to the remote device via a gateway.

10. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device, the commands configured for operating the apparatus.

11. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device configured to store data received from the apparatus for at least one of subsequent viewing and analysis.

12. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the coupling material comprises an apparel.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparel comprises a vest.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparel is configured to accommodate at least one of the housing and the one or more antennas.

15. A diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

an antenna unit, which has a front surface configured to be brought into contact with an outer surface of a living body and which comprises:

a planar antenna element, which is configured to direct radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves from the front surface into the body and to output RF signals responsively to the waves that are scattered from within the body;

a pacing electrode configured to apply a pacing signal to a heart;

an adhesive patch configured for attachment to the outer surface of the living body;

a cable, which is connected to the antenna unit so as to communicate with the planar antenna element and the conductive element; and

processing circuitry, which is connected to the cable so as to receive and process the RF signals and control the pacing electrode.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine at least one of an amplitude and a delay of the RF electromagnetic waves reflected from the heart.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to compare the at least one of the amplitude and the delay of the RF electromagnetic waves reflected from the heart to benchmarks provided by healthy and edematous lungs, or to previous measurements made on the same patient.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to process the RF signals over the course of one or more respiratory cycles.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a conductive element configured to receive electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the outer surface of the body.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a communication interface for wirelessly communicating with a remote device.

21. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a package which contains the antenna and processing the circuitry and is configured to be affixed as a patch to an outer surface of the body.

22. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a coupling material having a predetermined dielectric constant.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the coupling material is configured as one of a gel and an adhesive.

24. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device, the commands configured for operating the apparatus.

25. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the signals to the remote device via a gateway.

26. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device, the commands configured for operating the apparatus.

27. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals comprising commands from the remote device configured to store data received from the apparatus for at least one of subsequent viewing and analysis.

28. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the coupling material comprises an apparel.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the apparel comprises a vest.

30. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the apparel is configured to accommodate at least one of the housing and the one or more antennas.