Inventors:
Thomas C. Rozzell - Annandale VA
Curtis Johnson - Sanda UT
Carl Durney - Salt Lake City UT
James Lords - Salt Lake City UT
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC
International Classification:
G01K 1112, G01J 560
Abstract:
A temperature probe measures temperature changes of biological tissue while he tissue is being irradiated with microwaves. The temperature probe is completely nonmetallic to minimize perturbation of the microwave field, and the structure of the probe includes a plurality of optic fibers which carry light to and from a reflective liquid crystal film. The liquid crystal is enclosed in a housing at the tip of the probe which is in contact with the biological tissue, and the liquid crystal undergoes changes in absolute reflectance proportional to the temperature changes of the tissue. The optic fibers are gathered in a bundle with a first portion of the bundle transmitting light from a light generation device to the liquid crystal and the remainder of the bundle transmitting reflected light from the crystal back to a photo transistor. The reflected light received by the photo transistor is converted into an electrical signal and displayed as a representation of temperature.