Patient- specific ultrasound thermal strain-to-temperature calibration

An apparatus for deriving tissue temperature from thermal strain, comprising:

• an ultrasound imaging probe;
• a thermal-strain measuring module configured for using ultrasound, via said probe, to measure thermal strain in a region, within a subject, that surrounds a location where a temperature sensor is disposed;
• a temperature measurement module configured for, via said sensor, measuring a temperature at said sensor while said sensor is inside said subject;
• and
• a patient-specific thermal-strain-to-temperature-change proportionality calibration module configured for calibrating a coefficient, said calibrating being based on a measurement of a temperature parameter at said location derived from output of said temperature measurement module and on a measurement of thermal strain at said location obtained via said strain measuring module,
• wherein the apparatus is configured for using said calibrated coefficient in conjunction with a thermal strain measurement derived from another location within said region, in evaluating, for said another location, another temperature parameter, and
• wherein the apparatus is (1) configured for inputting, into a thermal model, said another temperature and, based on output from said model, determining a current ablation temperature at said another location, and/or (ii) configured for monitoring heating in said region and basing said monitoring on said measurement of thermal strain and on the calibrated coefficient.