Temperature-measuring microwave radiometer apparatus
US5688050A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 18, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01K11/006
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Disclosed are four improvements in temperature-measuring radiometric equipment. The first improvement is directed to increasing the sensitivity of a radiometer by employing microwave noise power derived from a reference noise source in an amount that corresponds to a temperature higher than that of the specimen, and applying the reference-noise-source-derived microwave noise power as an input to the radiometer for a shorter time than is microwave noise power derived from a specimen. The second improvement is directed to reducing emissivity error by employing open-loop means comprising a microwave circulator for applying microwave noise power generated by at least one resistor thermostatically heated to a temperature in the neighborhood of the temperature of a patient's body tissue back to the body tissue. The third improvement, which is suitable for use in an applicator insertable into a natural opening of a patient's body that is employed in the detection and location of a cancerous lesion, is directed to a microwave radiometer that employs two displaced microwave antennas to measure the temperature difference between two points of a patient's body tissue or other type of specimen…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.