The possible use of combined electrical impedance and ultrasound velocity measurements for the non-invasive measurement of temperature during mild hyperthermia

Measurement and modelling the sensitivity of tetrapolar transfer impedance measurements

Finite element method (FEM) modelling of a small disk in a homogeneous saline medium showed that the sensitivity distribution for tetrapolar transfer impedance measurements was dependant on the ratio, σdisk/σsaline, and not absolute conductivity values. In addition, the amplitude of the negative sensitivity regions between the drive and receive electrodes decreased non-linearly with σdisk/σsaline for σdisk/σsaline < 1, eventually becoming zero. This non-linear behaviour determined the limit of the assumption of a small change in conductivity in Geselowitz's lead theorem with 0.5 <σdisk/σsaline <1.5 for the measurements reported. The modelling supported the design of a sensitivity measurement system using an insulating support and a metal disk in a saline filled tank. Measurements were shown to give good agreement with sensitivity predictions from Geselowitz's lead theorem. Replacing the homogeneous medium in the FEM model with layers of different conductivity parallel to the plane of the electrodes changed the sensitivity distribution when the thickness of the layers adjacent to the electrodes were less than ½ the electrode spacing. A layer of greater conductivity over a layer of lesser conductivity next to the electrodes gave a peak in the sensitivity distribution and extended regions of negative sensitivity further into the tissue.

Thermometry and ablation monitoring with ultrasound

In this review we present the current status of ultrasound thermometry and ablation monitoring, with emphasis on the diverse approaches published in the literature and with an eye on which methods are closest to clinical reality. It is hoped that this review will serve as a guide to the expansion of sonographic methods for treatment monitoring and thermometry since the last brief review in 2007.