A novel low-cost and noninvasive device to measure deep temperature in the body

描述(申请人提供)：通过非侵入性测量深度的温度分布，我们可以提供发生在皮肤表面以下的组织中的热过程的新视野。具有这种能力的仪器将响应许多临床需求，包括在心脏手术期间监测大脑状态，检测侵袭性乳腺癌早期形成的异常代谢，以及观察关节炎的炎症过程。微波辐射测量多年来一直被天文学用来观测遥远恒星的温度。微波电子学的最新进展产生了超低噪声放大器、多层紧凑型天线和超精密模数转换器，为辐射探测和此类设备的小型化提供了强大的新能力。拟议的仪器开发将这些元素结合在一起，开发出一种新型的微型微波传感器阵列，将可靠且非侵入性地检测皮肤表面深处的热发射的微小波动。一个多学科团队将实施一系列紧凑、超灵敏的微波辐射计，直接安装在深度穿透天线上。通过对来自多个天线和频段的辐射测量信号进行实时相关，我们将重建传感器下方几厘米处的温度分布。然后，我们将展示它在医学上的潜在用途，通过在10名患者中比较由微型辐射阵列原型获得的非侵入性头部温度分布与目前用于长期监测创伤脑损伤状态的侵入性温度传感器。拟议中的热像仪将能够对热现象进行非侵入性检测，例如乳房组织中的肿瘤新陈代谢或皮肤深处的炎症反应，其功能远远超出目前的技术，并为我们提供了一种创新的医疗应用工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abstract By noninvasively measuring temperature distributions at depth, we could provide new vision of thermal processes occurring in tissues well below the skin surface. An instrument with such ability would respond to many clinical needs, including the monitoring of brain status during cardiac surgery, detect abnormal metabolism in the early formation of aggressive breast cancer, and observe the inflammatory processes in arthritis. Microwave radiometry has been used for many years in astronomy to observe temperature of stars far away. Recent advances in microwave electronics have produced ultra-low noise amplifiers, multilayer compact antennas, and ultra-precise analog-to-digital converters which provide powerful new capabilities for radiometric detection and for the miniaturization of such devices. The proposed instrument development combines these elements to develop a novel array of miniature microwave sensors that will reliably and noninvasively detect small fluctuations in heat emission from deep below the surface of skin. A multidisciplinary team will implement an array of compact, ultrasensitive microwave radiometers mounted directly on deep penetrating antennas. With real-time correlation of radiometric signals from multiple antennas and frequency bands we will reconstruct the thermal distributions at depth several cm below the sensors. We will then demonstrate its potential use in medicine, by comparing in ten patients the head thermal profiles obtained noninvasively by a miniature radiometric array prototype with invasive temperature sensors currently used for long-term monitoring of brain status with traumatic injuries. The proposed thermal imager will enable noninvasive detection of thermal phenomena, such as tumors metabolism in breast tissue or inflammatory response deep below the skin with capabilities that extend far beyond current technology and give us an innovative tool for medical applications.