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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

The simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion in small volumes of tissue.

An improved technique is presented for the "in-vivo" determination of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion using a self-heated spherical thermistor probe. In the presence of flow, solution of the time-dependent, probe-tissue coupled thermal model allows the measurement of "effective" thermal conductivity and "effective" thermal diffusivity, which represent the thermal properties of the perfused tissue. Perfusion can be quantified from both "effective" thermal properties. In the presence of flow, it has been shown that the transient power responses does not follow t-1/2 as has been previously assumed. An isolated rat liver preparation has been developed validate the measurement technique. Radioactive microspheres are used to determine the true perfusion from the total collected hepatic vein flow. Experimental data demonstrates the ability to quantify perfusion in small volumes of tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Measurement of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion.

This paper describes an experiment technique for the measurement of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and perfusion using self-heated thermistors. Thermal probes are constructed by placing a miniature thermistor at the tip of a plastic catheter. The volume of tissue over which the measurement occurs depends on the surface area of contact between the thermistor and the tissue. Electrical power is delivered to a spherical thermistor positioned invasively within the tissue of interest. The electrical power and resulting temperature rise are measured by a microcomputer-based instrument. When the tissue is perfused by blood, the thermistor heat is removed both by conduction and by heat transfer due to blood flow near the probe. In vivo, the instrument measures effective thermal properties which are the combination of conductive and convective heat transfer. The accuracy of the conductivity and diffusivity measurements was evaluated by operation of the probe in media of known thermal properties. Perfusion measurements in canine liver, prostate, and spleen are presented.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Thermal conductivity, thermal effusivity, and specific heat capacity near the lower critical point of the binary liquid mixture n-butoxyethanol-water.

Experimental investigations on binary liquid mixtures near the critical mixing point are presently leading to a controversy about the anomaly in the thermal conductivity. A photopyroelectric technique is used to determine the thermal conductivity and the effusivity of the binary liquid mixture n-butoxyethanol-water at its critical concentration near the critical mixing point. It is proven that, contrary to previous reports, there is no critical enhancement in the thermal conductivity. The specific heat capacity is calculated from these results and compared with the results from measurements performed by adiabatic scanning calorimetry.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

A nonequilibrium molecular dynamics method for thermal conductivities based on thermal noise.

We developed a nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) method for calculating thermal conductivities. In contrast to other NEMD algorithms, here only the heat sink is localized, whereas the heat source can be uniformly distributed throughout the system. The noise due to cutting off the pair forces or to integration errors is such a uniform heat source. In traditional NEMD methods it is normally considered a nuisance factor. The new algorithm accounts for it and uses it. The algorithm is easy to derive, analyse and implement. Moreover, it circumvents the need to calculate energy fluxes. It is tested on the enhanced simple-point charge model for liquid water and reproduces the known thermal conductivity of this model liquid of 0.81 W m(-1) K(-1). It can be generalized to situations, where the thermal noise is replaced by another uniform heat source, or to the inverse situation, where the heat source is localized but the heat sink extends over the entire system.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Fractal-like tree networks reducing the thermal conductivity.

The effective thermal conductivity of composites with embedded self-similar H-shaped fractal-like tree networks is studied. It is found that the effective thermal conductivity of the composites with these networks is related to the structures of the networks and the ratio of the component thermal conductivities: the longer the branches, the lower the thermal conductivity; the smaller the ratio (beta) of successive branch diameters, the lower the thermal conductivity; the denser the network, the lower the thermal conductivity. It is also found that the thermal conductivity of the H-shaped fractal-like tree networks does not obey Murray's law. The present results show that a network embedded in a composite plays an important role, and the thermal conductivity of the network itself may be less than that of the original material by several orders of magnitude. Fractal-like tree networks can significantly reduce the thermal conductivity compared to an equivalent single cylinder.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Differential effects of adrenergic blockade on seasonal changes in core temperatures and thermal conductances of deer mice maintained in thermal neutral environments.

1. Resting, daytime, thermal conductances and metabolic rates of mice conditioned to winter (10:14LD) and summer (14:10LD) photoperiods were reduced by social huddling; huddling resulted in group size related elevations in core temperature during summer, but not with winter light-dark cycle exposures. 2. Core temperatures of resting, solitary winter animals were lower than those of summer; both summer and winter animals' core temperatures were further reduced by increased thermal conductance resulting from (phentolamine) alpha receptor blockade. 3. Social huddling reduction of the heat loss from phentolamine treatment was more effective for winter (10:14LD) animals. 4. While phentolamine treatment resulted in increased thermal conductance and lower core temperatures of the mice, propranalol treatment resulted in lower core temperatures and resting metabolic rates, with a resulting decrease in thermal conductance. 5. Since adrenergic blockade was less dose-effective on winter animals, we reasoned that winter animals display higher levels of endogenous adrenergic capacity than summer animals and that lower winter thermoregulatory set points provide for energy conservation with enhanced capacity for meeting cold challenge.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Thermal expansion and impurity effects on lattice thermal conductivity of solid argon.

Thermal expansion and impurity effects on the lattice thermal conductivity of solid argon have been investigated with equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Thermal conductivity is simulated over the temperature range of 20-80 K. Thermal expansion effects, which strongly reduce thermal conductivity, are incorporated into the simulations using experimentally measured lattice constants of solid argon at different temperatures. It is found that the experimentally measured deviations from a T(-1) high-temperature dependence in thermal conductivity can be quantitatively attributed to thermal expansion effects. Phonon scattering on defects also contributes to the deviations. Comparison of simulation results on argon lattices with vacancy and impurity defects to those predicted from the theoretical models of Klemens and Ashegi et al. demonstrates that phonon scattering on impurities due to lattice strain is stronger than that due to differences in mass between the defect and the surrounding matrix. In addition, the results indicate the utility of molecular dynamics simulation for determining parameters in theoretical impurity scattering models under a wide range of conditions. It is also confirmed from the simulation results that thermal conductivity is not sensitive to the impurity concentration at high temperatures.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Infrared thermographic SAR measurements of interstitial hyperthermia applicators: errors due to thermal conduction and convection.

Thermal conduction and convection were examined as sources of error in thermographically measured SAR patterns of an interstitial microwave hyperthermia applicator. Measurements were performed in a layered block of muscle-equivalent phantom material using an infrared thermographic technique with varying heating duration. There was a 52.7% reduction in maximum SAR and 75.5% increase in 50% iso-SAR contour area for a 60-s heating duration relative to a 10-s heating duration. A finite element model of heat transfer in an homogeneous medium was used to model conductive and convective heat transfer during the thermographic measurement. Thermal conduction artefacts were found to significantly distort thermographically measured SAR patterns. Convective cooling, which occurs when phantom layers are exposed for thermal image acquisition, was found to significantly affect the magnitude, but not the spatial distribution, of thermographically measured SAR patterns. Results from this investigation suggest that the thermal diffusion artefacts can be minimized if the duration of the applied power pulse is restricted to 10 s or less.

Hot Temperature↗
PubMed2006

New device and method for measuring thermal conductivity of thin-films.

Thermal sensitive paints (TSPs) are used for global nonintrusive detection of boundary layer transition in flow over the surface of wind tunnel research models. Since the transition is a transient process, the TSP should have a fast response characteristic. A low paint thermal conductivity is required for fast response. A thin-film thermal conductivity meter (TFTCM) was designed and built to measure thermal conductivity of the TSPs, which are typically between 50 and 150 microm thick. In this paper, the design and operating features of the TFTCM are described. Measurement of the thermal conductivity with this TFTCM of three standard thin-film low conductivity specimens, Kapton, Teflon, and Borofloat glass, showed good agreement with the manufacturer quoted values, thus validating the instrument and the procedure. Consistently repeatable values for thermal conductivity (k=0.41 +/- 0.02 W/m K) were also obtained for the TSP specimen (TSB-B, 75 microm) tested.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed2001

Re-evaluation of the allometry of wet thermal conductance for birds.

Wet thermal conductance is an important thermoregulatory parameter for birds and mammals. It is generally calculated as C(wet) (ml O2 g(-1) h(-1) degrees C(-1)) = VO2/(T(b)-T(a)), where VO2 is metabolic rate measured in ml O2 g(-1) h(-1), T(b) is body and T(a) is ambient temperature measured in degrees C. Minimum C(wet) is measured at T(a) at or below the lower critical temperature (T(lc)) of the thermoneutral zone, and is strongly influenced by time of day (rest or activity phase) and body mass [J. Aschoff, Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 69A (1981) 611]. Allometric analyses indicate differences in C(wet) for passerine and non-passerine birds, in their rest and active phases (Aschoff, 1981). The allometric slope for non-passerine rest-phase (-0.583) is lower than that for non-passerine active-phase (-0.484), and passerine rest-phase (-0.461) and active-phase (-0.463), although none of these slopes are significantly different. This different-sloped relationship for non-passerine rest-phase C(wet) extrapolates to lower-than-expected values at high body mass, and so this allometric relationship may be inappropriate for predictive purposes. Consequently, we have reanalysed Aschoff's (1981) data, as well as more recent compilations, to determine a more useful allometric relationship for C(wet) of non-passerine rest-phase birds. Re-analyses of minimum thermal conductance data from Drent and Stonehouse [Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 40A (1971) 689], Aschoff (1981) and Gavrilov and Dolnik [Acta XVIII Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici Moscow (1982) 421] indicate that the most appropriate regressions for predicting C(wet) (ml O2 g(-1) h(-1) degrees C(-1)) of birds from body mass (M; g) are the pooled regressions for non-passerine and passerine birds, in the active (alpha) and resting (rho) phases, using data tabulated by Aschoff (1981): alpha, C(wet)=0.994M(-0.509); rho, C(wet)=0.702M(-0.519). C(wet) is approximately 40% higher in the active phase than the rest phase. Regressions of various data sets for C(wet) of birds and mammals indicate a similar slope of approximately -0.5 for the allometric relationship, but significantly higher elevations for mammals compared to birds. The approximately 50% higher C(wet) for mammals than birds indicates a better physical insulation for birds than mammals of the same body mass. The general scaling of C(wet) with M(-0.5) indicates that (T(b)-T(lc)) should scale with M(0.22), if mass-specific metabolic rate scales with M(-0.28) [Reynolds and Lee, Am. Nat. 147 (1996) 735]. The observed scaling for (T(b)-T(lc)) of M(0.183) (calculated from Gavrilov and Dolnik, 1985) is consistent with this expectation.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Superconducting gap structure of kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 probed by thermal conductivity tensor.

The thermal conductivity of organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 (Tc = 10.4 K) has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D superconducting planes with high alignment precision. At low temperatures ( T < or = 0.5 K), a clear fourfold symmetry in the angular variation, which is characteristic of a d-wave superconducting gap with nodes along the directions rotated 45 degrees relative to the b and c axes of the crystal, was resolved. The determined nodal structure is inconsistent with recent theoretical predictions of superconductivity induced by the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

RF tumour ablation: computer simulation and mathematical modelling of the effects of electrical and thermal conductivity.

This study determined the effects of thermal conductivity on RF ablation tissue heating using mathematical modelling and computer simulations of RF heating coupled to thermal transport. Computer simulation of the Bio-Heat equation coupled with temperature-dependent solutions for RF electric fields (ETherm) was used to generate temperature profiles 2 cm away from a 3 cm internally-cooled electrode. Multiple conditions of clinically relevant electrical conductivities (0.07-12 S m-1) and 'tumour' radius (5-30 mm) at a given background electrical conductivity (0.12 S m-1) were studied. Temperature response surfaces were plotted for six thermal conductivities, ranging from 0.3-2 W m-1 degrees C (the range of anticipated clinical and experimental systems). A temperature response surface was obtained for each thermal conductivity at 25 electrical conductivities and 17 radii (n=425 temperature data points). The simulated temperature response was fit to a mathematical model derived from prior phantom data. This mathematical model is of the form (T=a+bRc exp(dR) s(f) exp(g)(s)) for RF generator-energy dependent situations and (T=h+k exp(mR)+n?exp(p)(s)) for RF generator-current limited situations, where T is the temperature (degrees C) 2 cm from the electrode and a, b, c, d, f, g, h, k, m, n and p are fitting parameters. For each of the thermal conductivity temperature profiles generated, the mathematical model fit the response surface to an r2 of 0.97-0.99. Parameters a, b, c, d, f, k and m were highly correlated to thermal conductivity (r2=0.96-0.99). The monotonic progression of fitting parameters permitted their mathematical expression using simple functions. Additionally, the effect of thermal conductivity simplified the above equation to the extent that g, h, n and p were found to be invariant. Thus, representation of the temperature response surface could be accurately expressed as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. As a result, the non-linear temperature response of RF induced heating can be adequately expressed mathematically as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. Hence, thermal conductivity accounts for some of the previously unexplained variance. Furthermore, the addition of this variable into the mathematical model substantially simplifies the equations and, as such, it is expected that this will permit improved prediction of RF ablation induced temperatures in clinical practice.

Catheter Ablation↗
PubMed2002

Four-terminal thermal conductance of mesoscopic dielectric systems.

A four-terminal thermal conductance formula for a mesoscopic dielectric system with arbitrary central scattering region is derived. Similar to four-terminal electric conductance, the four-terminal thermal conductance also has a set of Onsager relations. In the temperature T-->0 limit, in contrast to the two-terminal thermal conductance which is a monotonic function of T and tends to zero, the four-terminal thermal conductance is nonmonotonic and tends to infinity. We also find that temperatures of the two terminals without thermal flux become very close to each other at low temperatures. Rather different behaviors are found for systems satisfying fractional exclusion statistics.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Characterization of the RF ablation-induced 'oven effect': the importance of background tissue thermal conductivity on tissue heating.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of background tissue thermal conductivity on RF ablation heating using ex vivo agar phantoms and computer modelling. METHOD: Two-compartment cylindrical agar phantom models (5% agar, 5% NaCl, 3% sucrose) were constructed. These included a standardized inner compartment (2 cm diameter, 4 cm length, 0.25% agar) representing a tumour, surrounded by an outer compartment representing background tissue. The thermal conductivity of the outer compartment was varied from 0.48 W m-1 degrees Celsius (normal liver) to 0.23 W m-1 degrees Celsius (fat) by adding a fat-saturated oil-based solute (10-90%) to the agar. RF ablation was applied at 2000 mA current for 2 min. Temperatures were recorded up to 4 cm from the electrode tip at 1 cm intervals. Subsequently, a 2-D finite element computer model was used to simulate RF ablation of 2-24 min duration for tumours measuring 2-4 cm in diameter surrounded by tissues of different thermal conductivity with the presence or absence of perfusion (0-5 kg m-3 s-1) (n = 44). A comparison of results was performed. RESULTS: In agar phantoms, the amount of fat in the background tissue correlated with thermal conductivity as a negative exponential function (r2 = 0.98). Significantly increased temperatures were observed at the edge of the inner compartment (1 cm from the electrode tip) as the fat content of the outer compartment increased (p < 0.01). Thus, temperatures at 2 min measured 31.5 +/- 2.2 degrees Celsius vs 45.1 +/- 3.1 degrees Celsius for thermal conductivities of 0.46 W m-1 degrees Celsius (10% fat) and 0.23 W m-1 degrees Celsius (90% fat), respectively. On the other hand, higher levels of fat led to lower temperature increases in the background compartment (0.2 +/- 0.3 degrees Celsius for 90% fat vs. 1.1 +/- 0.05 degrees Celsius for 10% fat, p < 0.05). Phantom thermal heating patterns correlated extremely well with computer modelling (r2 = 0.93), demonstrating that background tissues with low thermal conductivity increase heating within the central tumour, particularly for longer durations of RF ablation and in smaller tumours. Furthermore, computer modelling demonstrated that increases in temperature at the tumour margin for background tissues of lower thermal conductivity persisted in the presence of perfusion, with a clinically relevant 4.5 degrees Celsius difference between background thermal conductivities of fat and soft tissue for a 3 cm tumour with perfusion of 2 kg m-3 s-1, treated for 12 min. CONCLUSION: Lower thermal conductivity of background tissues significantly increases temperatures within a defined ablation target. These findings provide insight into the 'oven effect' (i.e. increased heating efficacy for tumours surrounded by cirrhotic liver or fat) and highlight the importance of both the tumour and the surrounding tissue characteristics when contemplating RF ablation efficacy.

Agar↗
PubMed1990

The effects of microsphere injections into the left atrium on the myocardial blood supply measured by thermal conductance probes.

Former experiments with thermal conduction probes showed signs of reductions or increases of myocardial perfusion shortly after injection of microspheres into the left atrium. Because of this, 210 measurements made during experiments on 66 dogs under propionyl-promazine/pentobarbital narcosis were newly analysed to verify a possible influence of microspheres (9 microns phi) injected into the left atrium on microcirculation. Using 20 additional dogs in identically performed experiments, the myocardial perfusion was measured using thermal conductance probes, following injections of isotonic NaCl solution (8 ml each), Ringer's solution, 5% glucose, the subject's blood, and isotonic NaCl solution mixed with the surface-active substance Tween 80. These suspension media were injected both with and without unlabelled microspheres (8.6 microns phi). The results led to the following conclusions: An obligatory decrease in the blood supply as the result of a mechanical blocking of capillaries by microspheres can be ruled out. The particles, the suspension media, and a suspension temperature not sufficiently adjusted to the body temperature induce reactive negative or positive changes in the microcirculation of the myocardium. This was found in approx. 45%-75% of cases. Solutions containing particles cause, in the majority of cases, a decrease. The suspension medium with the smallest effect proved to be isotonic NaCl solution. From the results one can conclude that artefacts may arise from the application of the heat conductance probe method when the temperatures are not perfectly matched. However, the injected solution itself can often lead to various reactions in microcirculation which may last up to 5 min. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗