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

摘要：通过无创测量深度温度分布，我们可以为皮肤表面以下组织中发生的热过程提供新的视角。具有这种能力的仪器将满足许多临床需求，包括在心脏手术中监测大脑状态，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中用于观测遥远恒星的温度已有多年历史。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，它们为辐射检测和此类设备的小型化提供了强大的新功能。提出的仪器开发结合了这些元素来开发一种新型微型微波传感器阵列，该传感器将可靠且无创地检测皮肤表面以下深处热辐射的微小波动。一个多学科团队将实现一组紧凑、超灵敏的微波辐射计，直接安装在深穿透天线上。通过实时相关多个天线和频段的辐射信号，我们将重建传感器以下几厘米深度的热分布。然后，我们将展示其在医学上的潜在用途，通过比较10名患者的头部热谱，该热谱是由微型辐射阵列原型和侵入性温度传感器获得的，目前用于长期监测创伤性脑损伤状态。提出的热成像仪将能够无创检测热现象，例如乳房组织中的肿瘤代谢或皮肤深处的炎症反应，其功能远远超出当前技术，并为我们提供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.