SBIR Phase I: A Wearable Non-Invasive Deep Tissue Thermometer

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过开发一种新型的温度传感器来测量医疗保健中的许多重要问题的生物温度。在短期内，可穿戴的非侵入性传感器可以防止高危人群中暑和精疲力竭，比如美国军方，每年有2800例现役人员中暑。此外，中暑早期预警可以减少美国高中和大学运动员以及740万急救人员的伤亡，这些人通常在压力较大的条件下工作。除了热应激，该温度计还可以监测中风或创伤性脑损伤(每年影响480万患者)后关键时间内大脑温度的升高，这可能会导致额外的脑损伤和永久性残疾。建议的传感器可以直接测量加热治疗期间的肿瘤温度，有可能将每年180万患者中的一些患者的临床结果改善20%-40%，同时减少使人衰弱的化学物质和辐射的剂量。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将展示一种新型的非侵入性温度传感器，能够准确测量皮肤以下几厘米处的深层组织温度，无论放置在哪里。该传感器将20多种信号处理和降噪方法与射电天文学中使用的技术相结合，在嘈杂的环境中检测微小的微波信号。非侵入性的脑温测量特别重要，因为大脑产生和管理自己的关键工作温度，而且难以捉摸，因为它只能通过替代测量而不直接切开头骨来推断。使用可穿戴设备的直接脑温监测可以为许多健康状况提供早期预警。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to measure biological temperatures for many important problems in health care, by advancing a novel temperature sensor. In the near term, a wearable, non-invasive sensor can prevent heat stroke and exhaustion for at-risk cohorts, such as the US military, which suffers from 2800 annual cases of heat stroke in active-duty personnel. Furthermore, heat stroke early warning could diminish injuries and deaths among U.S. high school and college athletes and 7.4 million first responders who typically operate under stressful conditions. Beyond heat stress, this thermometer can monitor elevated brain temperature during the critical hours following stroke or traumatic brain injury (affecting 4.8 million patients per year), which can cause additional brain damage and permanent disabilities. The proposed sensor can directly measure tumor temperature during heating therapy, potentially improving clinical outcomes for some of the 1.8 million patients per year by 20-40% while reducing dosage of debilitating chemicals and radiation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate a novel, non-invasive temperature sensor capable of accurately measuring deep tissue temperature several centimeters below the skin, wherever placed. The proposed sensor detects small microwave signals in a noisy environment by incorporating 20+ signal processing and noise reduction methods with technologies similar to those used in radio astronomy. Non-invasive brain temperature measurement is particularly important as the brain generates and manages its own critical operating temperature, and elusive as it can only be inferred from surrogate measurements without directly cutting into the skull. Direct brain temperature monitoring with a wearable device may provide early warning of many health conditions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.