Premium
Heat production in microwave‐irradiated thermocouples
Author(s) -
Dunscombe P. B.,
McLellan J.,
Malaker K.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.595952
Subject(s) - thermocouple , materials science , artifact (error) , microwave , irradiation , thermal resistance , temperature measurement , volume (thermodynamics) , thermal , optics , biomedical engineering , composite material , thermodynamics , computer science , physics , nuclear physics , medicine , computer vision , telecommunications
It has been known for some time that the irradiation of metallic thermometers by microwaves during clinical hyperthermia can lead to artifactual readings. We describe here a series of measurements in which this effect has been quantitatively studied. In particular, the data yield values for the conversion coefficient describing the rate of heat production per unit length of a thermocouple array per watt applied power which can be compared with the rate of heat production in the same volume of tissue. The degree of artifact in the temperature recording depends on the thermal resistance of the protective materials surrounding the array, and this thermal resistance has also been determined. It has been shown that measures taken to reduce the temperature artifact do not compromise the response time of the probe.