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

描述（由申请人提供）：摘要通过非侵入性地测量深度处的温度分布，我们可以提供远低于皮肤表面的组织中发生的热过程的新视野。具有这种能力的仪器将满足许多临床需求，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。微波辐射测量法在天文学上已经使用了很多年，用来观测遥远恒星的温度。微波电子学的最新进展已经产生了超低噪声放大器、多层紧凑天线和超精密模数转换器，这些器件为辐射检测和此类器件的小型化提供了强大的新能力。拟议的仪器开发结合了这些元素，开发了一种新型的微型微波传感器阵列，将可靠地和非侵入性地检测从皮肤表面以下深处的热发射的小波动。一个多学科小组将实施一系列直接安装在深穿透天线上的紧凑型超灵敏微波辐射计。通过对来自多个天线和频带的辐射信号进行实时相关，我们将重建传感器下方几厘米深度处的热分布。然后，我们将展示其在医学上的潜在用途，通过比较10名患者的头部热分布图获得非侵入性的微型辐射阵列原型与侵入性温度传感器，目前用于长期监测脑状态与创伤性损伤。拟议中的热成像仪将实现对热现象的非侵入性检测，例如乳腺组织中的肿瘤代谢或皮肤深处的炎症反应，其能力远远超出当前技术，并为我们提供了医疗应用的创新工具。

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.