Subcutaneous Temperature Measurement by Microwave Thermography

Electromagnetic and thermal models have been developed to assist the interpretation of microwave thermographic data. The electromagnetic modelling is strongly dependent on the tissue dielectric properties and the thermal modelling is strongly dependent on the tissue thermal conductivity. These tissue properties all have a similar dependence on tissue water content, which allows tissue behaviour to be specified in terms of its water content for combined thermal and electromagnetic modelling. This modelling has been successfully applied to several body regions and, in particular, is being used to study variation of blood supply to the female breast.