Non-Invasive Blood Perfusion Measurements Using a Combined Temperature and Heat Flux Surface Probe.

Non-invasive blood perfusion measurement systems have been developed and tested in a phantom tissue and an animal model. The probes use a small sensor with a laminated flat thermocouple to measure the heat transfer and temperature response to an arbitrary thermal event (convective or conductive) imposed on the tissue surface. Blood perfusion and thermal contact resistance are estimated by comparing heat flux data with a mathematical model of the tissue. The perfusion probes were evaluated for repeatability and sensitivity using both a phantom tissue test stand and exposed rat liver tests. Perfusion in the phantom tissue tests was varied by controlling the flow of water into the phantom tissue test section, and the perfusion in the exposed liver tests was varied by temporarily occluding blood flow through the portal vein. The phantom tissue tests indicated that the probes can be used to detect small changes in perfusion (0.005 ml/ml/s). The probes qualitatively tracked the changes in the perfusion of the liver model due to occlusion of the portal vein.

The question of thermal waves in heterogeneous and biological materials.

In the 1990s, there were two experimental studies that sparked a renewed interest in thermal wave behavior at the macroscale level. Both reported thermal relaxation times of 10 s or higher. However, no further experimental evidence of this behavior has been reported. Due to the extreme significance of these findings, the objectives of this study were to try to reproduce these earlier studies and offer an explanation for the outcome. These two previous studies, one using heterogeneous materials and one using bologna, were repeated following the experimental protocol provided in the studies as closely and as practically as possible. In both cases, the temperature response to a specified boundary condition was recorded. The results from the first set of experiments suggested that the thermal relaxation times presented in the previous study were actually the thermal lag expected from applying Fourier's law, taking into account the uncertainty of the temperature sensor. In the second set of experiments, unlike the distinct jumps in temperature found previously, no indication of wave behavior was found. Here, the explanation for the previous results was more difficult to ascertain. Possible explanations include problems with either the experimental protocol or the temperature sensors used.

A phantom tissue system for the calibration of perfusion measurements.

A convenient method for testing and calibrating surface perfusion sensors has been developed. A phantom tissue model is used to simulate the nondirectional blood flow of tissue perfusion. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was constructed in Fluent(R) to design the phantom tissue and validate the experimental results. The phantom perfusion system was used with a perfusion sensor based on clearance of thermal energy. A heat flux gage measures the heat flux response of tissue when a thermal event (convective cooling) is applied. The blood perfusion and contact resistance are estimated by a parameter estimation code. From the experimental and analytical results, it was concluded that the probe displayed good measurement repeatability and sensitivity. The experimental perfusion measurements in the tissue were in good agreement with those of the CFD models and demonstrated the value of the phantom tissue system.

Noninvasive blood perfusion measurements of an isolated rat liver and an anesthetized rat kidney.

A simple, cost effective, and noninvasive blood perfusion system is tested in animal models. The system uses a small sensor to measure the heat transfer response to a thermal event (convective cooling) imposed on the tissue surface. Heat flux data are compared with a mathematical model of the tissue to estimate both blood perfusion and thermal contact resistance between the tissue and the probe. The perfusion system was evaluated for repeatability and sensitivity using isolated rat liver and exposed rat kidney tests. Perfusion in the isolated liver tests was varied by controlling the flow of the perfusate into the liver, and the perfusion in the exposed kidney tests was varied by temporarily occluding blood flow through the renal artery and vein. The perfusion estimated by the convective perfusion probe was in good agreement with that of the metered flow of the perfusate into the liver model. The liver tests indicated that the probe can be used to detect small changes in perfusion (0.005 ml/ml/s). The probe qualitatively tracked the changes in the perfusion in the kidney model due to occlusion of the renal artery and vein.

Experimental validation of an inverse heat transfer algorithm for optimizing hyperthermia treatments.

Hyperthermia is a cancer treatment modality in which body tissue is exposed to elevated temperatures to destroy cancerous cells. Hyperthermia treatment planning refers to the use of computational models to optimize the heating protocol with the goal of isolating thermal damage to predetermined treatment areas. This paper presents an algorithm to optimize a hyperthermia treatment protocol using the conjugate gradient method with the adjoint problem. The output of the minimization algorithm is a heating protocol that will cause a desired amount of thermal damage. The transient temperature distribution in a cylindrical region is simulated using the bioheat transfer equation. Temperature and time are integrated to calculate the extent of thermal damage in the region via a first-order rate process based on the Arrhenius equation. Several validation experiments are carried out by applying the results of the minimization algorithm to an albumen tissue phantom. Comparisons of metrics describing the damage region (the height and radius of the volume of thermally ablated phantom) show good agreement between the desired extent of damage and the measured extent of damage. The sensitivity of the bioheat transfer model and the Arrhenius damage model to their constituent parameters is calculated to create a tolerable range of error between the desired and measured extent of damage. The measured height and radius of the ablated region fit well within the tolerable range of error found in the sensitivity analysis.