Thermometry Method Research Articles

Rainbow Thermometry Based on EMD De-Noising and Signal Analysis

A novel Rainbow thermometry method is presented which is based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) denoising and signal analysis, and permits one to get simultaneously the temperature and size of droplet under low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) condition. The noise is removed based on EMD and wavelet threshold method, and the inverse parameters are calculated according to the signal decomposition analysis based on EMD. A experiment is taken, and the measurement result shows the validity of the presented method.

Breakout prediction for continuous casting using genetic algorithm-based back propagation neural network model

In this paper, the effectiveness of the genetic algorithm-based back propagation (GABP) neural network model and its application to the breakout prediction in the continuous casting process are investigated. The formation of the sticking-type breakouts and the prediction principle of thermocouple thermometry method are analysed firstly. Then the genetic algorithm-based back propagation neural network model is proposed by fusing genetic algorithm (GA), and error back propagation neural network to offset the demerits of one paradigm by the merits of another. Finally, the GABP neural network model is applied to the breakout prediction in the continuous casting process; and the feasibility of the model is verified by the testing result with the accuracy rate of 97.56% and the prediction rate of 100%.

A self-reference PRF-shift MR thermometry method utilizing the phase gradient

In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the most widely used and accurate method for measuring temperature is based on the shift in proton resonance frequency (PRF). However, inter-scan motion and bulk magnetic field shifts can lead to inaccurate temperature measurements in the PRF-shift MR thermometry method. The self-reference PRF-shift MR thermometry method was introduced to overcome such problems by deriving a reference image from the heated or treated image, and approximates the reference phase map with low-order polynomial functions. In this note, a new approach is presented to calculate the baseline phase map in self-reference PRF-shift MR thermometry. The proposed method utilizes the phase gradient to remove the phase unwrapping step inherent to other self-reference PRF-shift MR thermometry methods. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using numerical simulations with temperature distributions following a two-dimensional Gaussian function as well as phantom and in vivo experimental data sets. The results from both the numerical simulations and experimental data show that the proposed method is a promising technique for measuring temperature.

Reference-Free PRFS MR-Thermometry Using Near-Harmonic 2-D Reconstruction of the Background Phase

Proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) MR thermometry (MRT) is the generally preferred method for monitoring thermal ablation, typically implemented with gradient-echo (GRE) sequences. Standard PRFS MRT is based on the subtraction of a temporal reference phase map and is, therefore, intrinsically sensitive to tissue motion (including deformation) and to external perturbation of the magnetic field. Reference-free (or reference-less) PRFS MRT has been previously described by Rieke and was based on a 2-D polynomial fit performed on phase data from outside the heated region, to estimate the background phase inside the region of interest. While their approach was undeniably a fundamental progress in terms of robustness against tissue motion and magnetic perturbations, the underlying mathematical formalism requires a thick unheated border and may be subject to numerical instabilities with high order polynomials. A novel method of reference-free PRFS MRT is described here, using a physically consistent formalism, which exploits mathematical properties of the magnetic field in a homogeneous or near-homogeneous medium. The present implementation requires as input the MR GRE phase values along a thin, nearly-closed and unheated border. This is a 2-D restriction of a classic Dirichlet problem, working on a slice per slice basis. The method has been validated experimentally by comparison with the “ground truth” data, considered to be the standard PRFS method for static ex vivo tissue. “Zero measurement” of the gradient-echo phase baseline was performed in healthy volunteer liver with rapid acquisition (300 ms/image). In vivo data acquired in sheep liver during MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) sonication were post-processed as proof of applicability in a therapeutic scenario. Bland and Altman mean absolute difference between the novel method and the “ground truth” thermometry in ex vivo static tissue ranged between 0.069 °C and 0.968 °C, compared to the inherent “white” noise SD of 0.23 °C. The accuracy and precision of the novel method in volunteer liver were found to be on average 0.13 °C and respectively 0.65 °C while the inherent “white” noise SD was on average 0.51 °C. The method was successfully applied to large ROIs, up to 6.2 cm inner diameter, and the computing time per slice was systematically less than 100 ms using C++. The current limitations of reference-free PRFS thermometry originate mainly from the need to provide a nearly-closed border, where the MR phase is artifact-free and the tissue is unheated, plus the potential need to reposition that border during breathing to track the motion of the anatomic zone being monitored.A reference-free PRFS thermometry method based on the theoretical framework of harmonic functions is described and evaluated here. The computing time is compatible with online monitoring during local thermotherapy. The current reference-free MRT approach expands the workflow flexibility, eliminates the need for respiratory triggers, enables higher temporal resolution, and is insensitive to unique-event motion of tissue.

A feasibility study for non-invasive thermometry using non-linear ultrasound

Purpose: High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is used during hyperthermia cancer treatment to increase the tumour temperature. For an adequate and safe application it is important to measure the temperature in the heated region, preferably in a non-invasive manner and by the same modality as used for heating. The goal of this feasibility study is two-fold; first, it is investigated whether the acoustic non-linearity parameter B/A is most suitable for measuring temperature changes, second, a non-invasive thermometry method based on B/A is proposed and demonstrated.Material and methods: Water is used to confirm that B/A is a sensitive acoustic medium parameter that is practically applicable for non-invasive thermometry. Next, a thermometry method is proposed that employs the ratios between the fundamental and the higher harmonic frequency components of a non-linear acoustic wave. The method determines these ratios for a measured acoustic pulse that has traversed a certain medium, and compares these with temperature dependent reference ratios for the same medium. The method is demonstrated using simulated measurements of an acoustic plane wave propagating in glycerol.Results: Results obtained for water show that B/A is more sensitive for temperature changes than other practical acoustic parameters. For a combination of 16 simulated measurements, it is demonstrated that temperature can be predicted non-invasively with zero bias and a standard deviation of 2°C if the noise level does not exceed −40 dB.Conclusion: The suitability of B/A as a basis for non-invasive thermometry is confirmed, and a non-invasive thermometry method based on B/A is proposed and successfully demonstrated.

Optomechanical sideband cooling of a micromechanical oscillator close to the quantum ground state

Cooling a mesoscopic mechanical oscillator to its quantum ground state is elementary for the preparation and control of low entropy quantum states of large scale objects. Here, we pre-cool a 70-MHz micromechanical silica oscillator to an occupancy below 200 quanta by thermalizing it with a 600-mK cold 3He gas. Two-level system induced damping via structural defect states is shown to be strongly reduced, and simultaneously serves as novel thermometry method to independently quantify excess heating due to the cooling laser. We demonstrate that dynamical backaction sideband cooling can reduce the average occupancy to 9+-1 quanta, implying that the mechanical oscillator can be found (10+- 1)% of the time in its quantum ground state.

Hybrid referenceless and multibaseline subtraction MR thermometry for monitoring thermal therapies in moving organs

Magnetic resonance thermometry using the proton resonance frequency (PRF) shift is a promising technique for guiding thermal ablation. For temperature monitoring in moving organs, such as the liver and the heart, problems with motion must be addressed. Multi-baseline subtraction techniques have been proposed, which use a library of baseline images covering the respiratory and cardiac cycle. However, main field shifts due to lung and diaphragm motion can cause large inaccuracies in multi-baseline subtraction. Referenceless thermometry methods based on polynomial phase regression are immune to motion and susceptibility shifts. While referenceless methods can accurately estimate temperature within the organ, in general, the background phase at organ/tissue interfaces requires large polynomial orders to fit, leading to increased danger that the heated region itself will be fitted by the polynomial and thermal dose will be underestimated. In this paper, a hybrid method for PRF thermometry in moving organs is presented that combines the strengths of referenceless and multi-baseline thermometry. The hybrid image model assumes that three sources contribute to image phase during thermal treatment: Background anatomical phase, spatially smooth phase deviations, and focal, heat-induced phase shifts. The new model and temperature estimation algorithm were tested in the heart and liver of normal volunteers, in a moving phantom HIFU heating experiment, and in numerical simulations of thermal ablation. The results were compared to multi-baseline and referenceless methods alone. The hybrid method allows for in vivo temperature estimation in the liver and the heart with lower temperature uncertainty compared to multi-baseline and referenceless methods. The moving phantom HIFU experiment showed that the method accurately estimates temperature during motion in the presence of smooth main field shifts. Numerical simulations illustrated the method's sensitivity to algorithm parameters and hot spot features. This new hybrid method for MR thermometry in moving organs combines the strengths of both multi-baseline subtraction and referenceless thermometry and overcomes their fundamental weaknesses.

Characteristics of rare earth (RE = Eu, Tb, Tm)‐doped Y2O3 phosphors for thermometry

The temperature-dependent photoluminescences of Y(2)O(3) : Eu (6% Eu), Y(2)O(3) : Tb (4% Tb) and Y(2)O(3) : Tm (1% Tm) were investigated for high-temperature phosphor thermometry. Two different phases, the monoclinic phase and cubic phase, were considered because the fluorescence spectra vary with the phase. To employ the intensity ratio method, we investigated their photoluminescence spectra under the excitation light of an Hg-Xe lamp as the temperature was elevated from room temperature to more than 1200 K. As a result, it was confirmed that the luminescence intensity of all of the phosphors varied with elevating temperature, i.e. thermal quenching, with the variations depending on the type of rare earth impurity and their phases. The results indicate that Y(2)O(3) : Eu phosphors are applicable to the intensity ratio method because they show appropriate variations in the intensity ratio of two emission lines, and they also have strong and sharp peak intensities without excessive optical noise or black body radiation over a wide range of temperatures. The intensity ratios for Y(2)O(3) : Tb provide such small variations with temperature that the temperature resolution is low, despite the strong emission intensities. As for Y(2) O(3) :Tm, the intensity ratios also have a low temperature resolution and their emission intensities are weak. Therefore, Y(2)O(3) : Tb and Y(2)O(3) : Tm are not appropriate for the intensity ratio method for phosphor thermometry.

An observational study of a wireless temporal artery bandage thermometer

To the Editor: Accurate and precise temperature measurement, which is an important part of a patient’s clinical examination, can be obtained from several locations, including the distal esophagus, rectum, bladder, and pulmonary artery. However, measuring temperature in these locations is invasive and impractical for most patients. A simple reliable accurate and non-invasive method for measuring temperature is needed in clinical practice. Finvers et al. developed a novel non-invasive continuous temperature assessment method using a wireless temporal artery bandage thermometer (WiTAT). Given the potential value of WiTAT but the absence of clinical data about its precision and accuracy, we performed a prospective evaluation of the agreement in temperature assessment between WiTAT and an established method of core temperature thermometry (bladder). After Ethics Committee approval and patients’ written informed consent, we recruited five males and nine females based on an estimate that a minimum of 14 patients with 12 temperature measurements would be needed to have 90% power to detect a 0.25 C difference in measured temperatures. The patients, ranging in age from 19 to 74 yr and with a minimum range of 1 C in their recorded temperatures in the 72 hr prior to consent, were admitted to a medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU). Temperature measurements were performed hourly and in a rapid sequential manner from the skin overlying the temporal artery (WiTAT) and from within the bladder (Level 1 Foley Catheter temperature Sensor, Smiths Group PLC., Rockland, MA, USA) as part of routine clinical monitoring performed by bedside nurses. Wireless temporal artery bandage thermometer temperatures were recorded at foursecond intervals directly into a closed and locked bedside laptop computer (to blinded clinicians and investigators) whose clock was synchronized with that of the ICU’s electronic patient information system. Bladder temperature measurements (manufacturer documented accuracy ± 0.2 C in the range of 5-45 C) were displayed continually on the bedside monitor and were recorded hourly directly into the ICU’s electronic patient information system with a time stamp. Temperature measurement agreement between WiTAT and the bladder thermometer was analyzed using the procedures described by Bland and Altman. Limits of agreement were clinically (±0.5 C) defined. Mean differences in measured temperatures were calculated along with the standard deviations of the differences using a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance with patient as the classification variable. Statistical analysis was performed using R, version 2.9 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). For analysis, we used 999 WiTAT-bladder temperature observations that were recorded within one minute of each other (Figure). The mean difference between temperatures measured by WiTAT and the bladder thermometer was 0.09 C (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02 C to 0.16 C). Agreement between the two devices was better for normothermia (36.0 C to \38.3 C) (mean 0.28 C; 95% CI, 0.21 C to 0.35 C) than for hypothermia (\36 C) (mean H. T. Stelfox, MD, PhD (&) J. Conly, MD J. Haslett, PhD S. Zwierzchowski, M Eng University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada e-mail: tom.stelfox@albertahealthservices.ca

Systematic errors in the correlation method for Johnson noise thermometry: residual correlations due to amplifiers

Johnson noise thermometers (JNT) measure the equilibrium electrical noise, proportional to thermodynamic temperature, of a sensing resistor. In the correlation method, the same resistor is connected to two amplifiers and a correlation of their outputs is performed, in order to reject amplifiers' noise. Such rejection is not perfect: the residual correlation gives a systematic error in the JNT reading. In order to set an upper limit, or to achieve a correction, for such error, a careful electrical modelling of the amplifiers and connections must be performed. Standard numerical simulation tools are inadequate for such modelling. In the literature, evaluations have been performed by the painstaking solving of analytical modelling. We propose an evaluation procedure for the JNT error due to residual correlations which blends analytical and numerical approaches, with the benefits of both: a rigorous and accurate circuit noise modelling, and a fast and flexible evaluation with a user-friendly commercial tool. The method is applied to a simple but very effective ultralow-noise amplifier employed in a working JNT.

Real-time MR-thermometry and dosimetry for interventional guidance on abdominal organs

The use of proton resonance frequency shift-based magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry for interventional guidance on abdominal organs is hampered by the constant displacement of the target due to the respiratory cycle and the associated thermometry artifacts. Ideally, a suitable MR thermometry method should for this role achieve a subsecond temporal resolution while maintaining a precision comparable to those achieved on static organs while not introducing significant processing latencies. Here, a computationally effective processing pipeline for two-dimensional image registration coupled with a multibaseline phase correction is proposed in conjunction with high-frame-rate MRI as a possible solution. The proposed MR thermometry method was evaluated for 5 min at a frame rate of 10 images/sec in the liver and the kidney of 11 healthy volunteers and achieved a precision of less than 2 degrees C in 70% of the pixels while delivering temperature and thermal dose maps on the fly. The ability to perform MR thermometry and dosimetry in vivo during a real intervention was demonstrated on a porcine kidney during a high-intensity focused ultrasound heating experiment.

Design of an optical thermal sensor for proton exchange membrane fuel cell temperature measurement using phosphor thermometry

Internal temperatures in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell govern the ionic conductivities of the polymer electrolyte, influence the reaction rate at the electrodes, and control the water vapor pressure inside the cell. It is vital to fully understand thermal behavior in a PEM fuel cell if performance and durability are to be optimized. The objective of this research was to design, construct, and implement thermal sensors based on the principles of the lifetime-decay method of phosphor thermometry to measure temperatures inside a PEM fuel cell. Five sensors were designed and calibrated with a maximum uncertainty of ±0.6 °C. Using these sensors, surface temperatures were measured on the cathode gas diffusion layer of a 25 cm 2 PEM fuel cell. The test results demonstrate the utility of the optical temperature sensor design and provide insight into the thermal behavior found in a PEM fuel cell.

Model-based PRFS thermometry using fat as the internal reference and the extended Prony algorithm for model fitting

A model-based proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) thermometry method was developed to significantly reduce the temperature quantification errors encountered in the conventional phase mapping method and the spatiotemporal limitations of the spectroscopic thermometry method. Spectral data acquired using multi-echo gradient echo (GRE) is fit into a two-component signal model containing temperature information and fat is used as the internal reference. The noniterative extended Prony algorithm is used for the signal fitting and frequency estimate. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the advantages of the method for optimal water-fat separation and temperature estimation accuracy. Phantom experiments demonstrate that the model-based method effectively reduces the interscan motion effects and frequency disturbances due to the main field drift. The thermometry result of ex vivo goose liver experiment with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) heating was also presented in the paper to indicate the feasibility of the model-based method in real tissue.

Simultaneous measurement of emissivity and temperature of silicon wafers using a polarization technique

The emissivity of a silicon wafer under various conditions was theoretically and experimentally investigated. A quantitative relationship between the ratio of p-polarized to s-polarized radiances, and the polarized emissivity was obtained, irrespective of the emissivity change of silicon wafers due to oxide film thickness under wide variations of impurity concentration. We propose a new radiation thermometry method that can measure both the temperature and the spectral polarized emissivity of a silicon wafer, and we estimate the uncertainty of these measurements. Currently, the expanded uncertainty of the temperature measurement is estimated to be 3.52 K (2 k) and 3.80 (2 k) for p-polarization and s-polarization, respectively, at temperatures above 900 K.

A Fundamental Numerical Analysis for Noninvasive Thermometry Integrated in a Heating Applicator Based on the Reentrant Cavity

To improve the efficacy of hyperthermia treatment, a novel method of noninvasive measurement of body temperature change is proposed. The proposed technology, thermometry, is based on changes in the electromagnetic field distribution inside the heating applicator with temperature changes and the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant. In addition, an image of the temperature change distribution inside a body is reconstructed by applying a computed tomography (CT) algorithm. The proposed thermometry method can serve as a possible noninvasive method to monitor the temperature change distribution inside the body without the use of enormous thermometers such as in the case of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Furthermore, this temperature monitoring method can be easily combined with a heating applicator based on a cavity resonator, and the novel integrated treatment system can possibly be used to treat cancer effectively while noninvasively monitoring the heating effect. In this paper, the phase change distributions of the electromagnetic field with temperature changes are simulated by numerical analysis using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. Moreover, to estimate the phase change distributions inside a target body, the phase change distributions with temperature changes are reconstructed by a filtered back-projection. In addition, the reconstruction accuracy of the converted temperature change distribution from the phase change is evaluated

Spin Gradient Thermometry for Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices

We demonstrate spin gradient thermometry, a new general method of measuring the temperature of ultracold atoms in optical lattices. We realize a mixture of spins separated by a magnetic field gradient. Measurement of the width of the transition layer between the two spin domains serves as a new method of thermometry which is observed to work over a broad range of lattice depths and temperatures, including in the Mott insulator regime. We demonstrate the thermometry using ultracold rubidium atoms, and suggest that interesting spin physics can be realized in this system. The lowest measured temperature is 1 nK, indicating that the system has reached the quantum regime, where insulating shells are separated by superfluid layers.

The super cool atom thermometer

A new method of thermometry for ultracold atoms in optical lattices has the potential to accurately measure temperatures down to 50pK.

Light Scattering for Thermometry of Fermionic Atoms in an Optical Lattice

We propose a method of using off-resonant light scattering to measure the temperature of fermionic atoms tightly confined in a two-dimensional optical-lattice potential. We show that fluctuations of the intensity in the far-field diffraction pattern arising from thermal correlations of the atoms can be accurately detected above the shot noise by collecting photons scattered in a forward direction, with the diffraction maxima blocked. The sensitivity of this method of thermometry is enhanced by an additional harmonic trapping potential.

Non-intrusive temperature measurement using microscale visualization techniques

μPIV is a widely accepted tool for making accurate measurements in microscale flows. The particles that are used to seed the flow, due to their small size, undergo Brownian motion which adds a random noise component to the measurements. Brownian motion introduces an undesirable error in the velocity measurements, but also contains valuable temperature information. A PIV algorithm which detects both the location and broadening of the correlation peak can measure velocity as well as temperature simultaneously using the same set of images. The approach presented in this work eliminates the use of the calibration constant used in the literature (Hohreiter et al. in Meas Sci Technol 13(7):1072–1078, 2002), making the method system-independent, and reducing the uncertainty involved in the technique. The temperature in a stationary fluid was experimentally measured using this technique and compared to that obtained using the particle tracking thermometry method and a novel method, low image density PIV. The method of cross-correlation PIV was modified to measure the temperature of a moving fluid. A standard epi-fluorescence μPIV system was used for all the measurements. The experiments were conducted using spherical fluorescent polystyrene-latex particles suspended in water. Temperatures ranging from 20 to 80°C were measured. This method allows simultaneous non-intrusive temperature and velocity measurements in integrated cooling systems and lab-on-a-chip devices.

Visualization of Biomass Pyrolysis and Temperature Imaging in a Heated-Grid Reactor

The main advantage of a heated-grid reactor for studying pyrolysis kinetics of solid fuel samples is that high heating rates of up to 1000 K/s can be obtained. However, one of the concerns is whether the temperature distribution over the grid material is uniform and whether the presence of a thermocouple welded to the grid causes any measurement errors. Biomass samples were placed on the heated-grid reactor, and the volatiles, emitted in the biomass pyrolysis process as hot gas plumes, were imaged with an infrared camera with a high framing speed. The temporal resolved infrared images indicate that the pyrolysis process does not take place at the same rate everywhere on the grid. Two-dimensional temperature images of a heated grid made of stainless steel were recorded using the method of laser-induced thermometry with thermographic phosphors. As expected from a heat-transfer model, measured temperatures were found to be significantly higher than temperatures indicated by a thermocouple welded to the bottom of the grid. It was also observed that there is a large temperature gradient between the two electrodes on which the grid is connected. It is shown that replacing a wire mesh by a foil as a grid material may lead to more homogeneous temperature distribution. The paper recommends additional research to demonstrate the suitability of the heated-grid reactor for carrying out accurate measurements.