Preliminary Investigations for Non-invasive Temperature Change Detection in Thermotherapy by Means of UWB Microwave Radar

Non-invasive differential temperature monitoring by means of ultra-wideband sensing is a promising approach concerning temperature controlling during thermotherapy. In this paper the principal of temperature difference detection by UWB radar is explained and appropriate phantom measurements are discussed. In a first step, temperature dependent dielectric properties of the phantom materials (sunflower oil and distilled water) are analyzed. Subsequently, temperature dependent phantom measurements are conducted where the temperature dependent signal changes of the received UWB signals are investigated. Results show a linear behavior between the received differential radar signals and the temperature differences of the target in the considered temperature range. Furthermore, investigations show that temperature changes of the target, which are common in thermal therapy (e.g., hyperthermia), are detectable by means of UWB radar.