DEEP TISSUE TEMPERATURE PROBE CONSTRUCTIONS
A disposable, zero-heat-flux, deep tissue temperature probe is constructed using a support assembly with multiple sections folded together or separated into strata during assembly of the probe. The sections support elements of the probe, including thermal sensors and a thermal resistor between the thermal sensors. Optionally, one of the sections supports a heater.
This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Application for Patent 61/212,704 filed Apr. 15, 2009.
RELATED APPLICATIONThis application contains material related to material disclosed, illustrated, and/or claimed in the following co-pending US patent applications:
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/584,108, filed Aug. 31, 2009.
BACKGROUNDThe subject matter relates to a temperature probe—a device placed on the skin of a subject to measure temperature. More particularly, the subject matter pertains to a deep tissue temperature (DTT) probe. Deep tissue temperature measurement is a non-invasive determination of the core temperature of a human body in which a probe is located over a region of deep tissue that is representative of the body core. The probe reads the temperature of that region as the core temperature.
A system for non-invasively measuring deep tissue temperature was described by Fox and Solman in 1971 (Fox R H, Solman A J. A new technique for monitoring the deep body temperature in man from the intact skin surface. J. Physiol. January 1971:212(2): pp 8-10). The system, illustrated in the schematic diagram of
Togawa improved the Fox/Solman design with a DTT probe structure that accounted for the strong multi-dimensional heat transfer of dermal blood flow through the skin. (Togawa T. Non-Invasive Deep Body Temperature Measurement. In: Rolfe P (ed) Non-Invasive Physiological Measurements. Vol. 1. 1979. Academic Press, London, pp. 261-277). The probe, illustrated in
ZHF deep tissue temperature measurement were improved in several ways, principally by decreasing the size and mass of a DTT probe to improve response and equilibrium times, and also by adding guard heating around the periphery of the probe to minimize radial heat losses. Nevertheless, ZHF probes have typically been expensive and non-disposable, and have not been widely adopted for clinical use, except for cardiac surgery in Japan. The sensors cannot be effectively heat sterilized, although they can be disinfected with a cold bactericidal solution.
Presently, ZHF probes based on the original Fox and Solman design comprise both software and hardware improvements. One such ZHF probe has a stacked planar structure that consists of a number of discrete layers. An advantage of this design is a narrow width, which helps minimize radial temperature differences from heat loss through the sides of the sensor. This probe includes an optimally-damped heater controller which is operated by use of a PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) scheme to maintain the heater temperature just slightly higher than the temperature of the skin. The small temperature difference provides an error signal for the controller. While the hardware design is not disposable, it does provide some basic improvements to the size and mass of the Fox/Solman and Togawa designs.
Maintenance of body core temperature in a normothermic range during a perioperative cycle has been shown to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection, and so it is beneficial to monitor a patient's body core temperature before, during, and after surgery. Of course non-invasive measurement is very desirable, for both the comfort and the safety of a patient. Deep tissue temperature measurement using a probe supported on the skin provides an accurate and non-invasive means for monitoring body core temperature. However, the size and mass of the Fox/Solman and Togawa probes do not promote disposability. Consequently, they must be sterilized after each use, and stored for reuse. As a result, use of these probes to measure deep tissue temperature may raise the costs associated with DTT measurement and may increase the risk of cross contamination between patients. It is therefore useful to reduce the size and mass of a DTT probe, without sacrificing its performance, so as to promote disposability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONDisposable, zero-heat-flux, deep tissue temperature probes are constructed using a support assembly constituted of a flexible substrate that supports elements of the probe. The support assembly has multiple sections that may be folded together and/or separated to form a multi-level ZHF structure. The sections support elements of the probe, including thermal sensors separated by a layer of thermal resistance interposed between adjacent sensor-supporting sections. Preferably, at least one of the sections supports a heater.
It is desirable that zero-heat-flux, deep tissue temperature probe (DTT probe) constructions be disposable. Thus the constructions should be easy and inexpensive to fabricate and assemble, have a low mass and a low profile, and comprise inexpensive materials and parts.
It is particularly desirable that disposable DTT constructions be assembled from low-profile, light weight, flexible assemblies that enable zero-heat-flux measurement at various locations on a human or animal body.
A thermal measurement support assembly for zero-heat-flux deep tissue temperature probe (DTT probe) constructions includes a flexible substrate with at least two thermal sensors disposed in a spaced-apart relationship and separated by one or more layers of thermally insulating material. Preferably the sensors are spaced apart vertically as in
A first embodiment of a support assembly for a DTT probe is illustrated in
The thermocouples in the first support assembly embodiment illustrated in
With reference to
As best seen in
As seen in
With the heater 514 and thermocouples 518 and 525 thus formed, the support assembly 500 may be Z-folded as shown in
Final assembly of a DTT probe construction with a support assembly 500 according to the second embodiment is illustrated in
Major surface A is the electric heater
Major surface B is plastic film
Major surface C is a copper layer that supports a thermal sensor
Major surface D is a plastic film
Major surface E is a copper layer that supports a thermal sensor
Major surface F is plastic film
The assembled DTT probe may include additional layers added to the structure of the probe during assembly. For example, layers of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) 527 may be disposed between the folded sections and on the top and bottom major surfaces, an insulating layer may be disposed on the layer of PSA above the heater, and a further layer of PSA may be disposed on the top of the insulating layer. Further, a release liner may be provided on the bottom PSA layer, and an aluminum radiation shield may be supported on the top PSA layer. The exemplary embodiment of the DTT probe shown in
The second support assembly embodiment illustrated in
In
The two embodiments of
A support assembly according to any of the four embodiments may be constructed using a substrate constituted of a single double-sided sheet of plastic film such as Kapton® polyimide, Kaptrex® polyimide, polyester or another film of flexible, thermally insulating material. The sheet may be coated on one or both sides with a copper film and various elements such as heaters, copper disks, and copper leads and pins may be made by photo-etching before the support assembly is folded or separated. The sheet may then be die-cut to the required shape and folded or separated as described above. Other metals with high thermal conductivities, like gold or aluminum, may also be used, although copper is preferred because it can form one half of a T-type thermocouple; however, other types of thermocouples are possible, and it may be possible to dispense with metal films altogether if other thermal sensors such as balanced RTD's, thermistors, and/or point junction thermocouples are used to measure temperature. Chromel traces and leads may be formed by deposition, or by peening.
A disposable DTT probe may be easily and inexpensively made using the support assembly construction embodiments described above. Disposability makes the commercialization of a DTT probe possible. Also, a single-use probe limits the potential for cross-contamination and makes it possible for more patients to benefit from perioperative temperature monitoring.
Thus, although the invention has been described with reference to the presently preferred embodiment, it should be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the following claims.
Claims
1. A zero-heat-flux temperature probe comprising:
- a two-sided substrate;
- a heater disposed on the substrate;
- a plurality of sections defined in the substrate, in which each section is joined to at least one adjacent section at a common peripheral location;
- two thermal sensors, each of the two thermal sensors supported on a respective one of two adjacent sections;
- the two adjacent sections folded together at a common peripheral location joining the two sections, wherein the folded two adjacent sections are in a stack configuration; and
- a lead support tab projecting outwardly of a periphery of one of the plurality of sections and leads on the lead support tab for the heater and the thermal sensors,
- wherein one of the plurality of sections has a generally round shape with the heater disposed thereon.
2. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sections are the two adjacent sections, each of the two thermal sensors is mounted on a major support surface of a respective one of the two sections, and the sections are folded together in clam shell fashion such that the two thermal sensors face each other.
3. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sections are three sections, each section has opposing major support surfaces, a first thermal sensor is mounted on a first major support surface of a first section of the two adjacent sections, the second thermal sensor is mounted on a second major support surface of the second section of the two adjacent sections, and the three sections are folded together such that the two thermal sensors face in the same direction.
4. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 3, wherein the heater is positioned to sandwich one of the two adjacent sections between the heater and the other of the two adjacent sections.
5. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 4, wherein the heater is supported on a major support surface of the third section.
6. A zero-heat-flux temperature probe comprising:
- a sheet of flexible material with two sides;
- a heater disposed on the sheet of flexible material;
- two or more sections defined in the sheet;
- two of the two or more sections joined at a peripheral location;
- two thermal sensors, each of the two thermal sensors supported on a respective one of the two or more sections;
- the two of the two or more sections folded together, wherein the folded two sections are in a stack configuration; and
- a lead support tab projecting outwardly of a periphery of the sheet of flexible material and leads on the lead support tab for the heater and the thermal sensors,
- wherein one of the two or more sections has a generally round shape with the heater disposed thereon.
7. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 6, wherein each of the thermal sensors is a thermocouple.
8. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 7, wherein the two sections are folded together in clam shell fashion such that the thermal sensors are disposed in a stacked configuration.
9. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 7, wherein each thermocouple includes a copper disk supported on a surface of a respective section and a chromel wire, wherein the copper disk is attached to the chromel wire at a thermocouple junction.
10. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 6, wherein the sheet is a flexible sheet of thermally insulating material.
11. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 10, wherein the sheet is coated with a copper film on each side.
12. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 11, wherein each copper film is etched to form an element of a respective one of the thermal sensors.
13. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 11, wherein one copper film is etched to form the heater.
14. A zero-heat-flux temperature probe comprising:
- a substrate having a center;
- a heater disposed on a periphery of the substrate;
- two support sections extending from the periphery of the substrate toward the center and disposed within the periphery;
- two thermal sensors, each of the two thermal sensors supported on a respective one of the support sections; and,
- a thermal resistor disposed between and separating the two support sections into strata.
15. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 14, in which the substrate has a circumferential periphery and the two support sections are disposed in an opposing or an adjacent relationship, inwardly of the periphery.
16. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 15, in which the substrate has the shape of an annulus with the heater disposed thereon and the two support sections project inwardly of the annulus.
17. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 15, further comprising a lead support tab projecting outwardly of the circumferential periphery and leads on the lead support tab for the heater and the thermal sensors.
18. The zero-heat-flux temperature probe of claim 15, in which the thermal sensors are thermocouples.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 2, 2015
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2015
Inventor: Albert P. Van Duren (Stillwater, MN)
Application Number: 14/728,668