# US 2019/0167180 A1 · Method and apparatus for estimating temperature in a body > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0167180 A1 - Document ID: US20190167180A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/273,316 - Filed: 2019-02-12 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2012-10-22 - Assignees: Brainlab AG - Applicants: Brainlab AG - Inventors: Maria Inmaculada Rodriguez-Ponce; Stephan Mittermeyer - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190167180A1 ## CPC - A61B 5/417: {the bone marrow} - A61B 5/015: {By temperature mapping of body part} - A61B 5/055: involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging - G09B 23/28: for medicine - G16H 20/40: relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture - A61N 1/403: {for thermotherapy, e.g. hyperthermia} - G01R 33/4804: {Spatially selective measurement of temperature or pH} - G01R 33/56366: {Perfusion imaging} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G09B: EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS (devices for psychotechnics or for testing reaction times A61B5/16; games, sports, amusements A63; projectors, projector screens G03B) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA - A61N: ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY (measurement of bioelectric currents A61B; surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body A61B18/00; anaesthetic apparatus in general A61M; incandescent lamps H01K; infrared radiators for heating H05B) - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) ## Abstract The invention relates a method and an apparatus of predicting or planning a temperature distribution (52) in a body. The method comprises the steps of: a) obtaining a model of the body (50) related to a temperature transport mechanism or temperature distribution (52) in the body; b) simulating an application of heat to at least a part of the body such as targeted tissue; c) determining and/or predicting the temperature (52) or heat distribution in at least a part of the body using the model of the body (50). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method performed in an associated computer comprising a processing unit operatively coupled with a database for planning an application of heat to an associated body part of an associated patient to obtain a desired spatial distribution of heat in treatment and non-treatment target tissues of the associated body part of the associated patient, the method comprising: obtaining imaging information of an image obtained of the associated body part of the associated patient; identifying by the processing unit, from the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, patient image data, the patient image data being representative of a set of patient tissue parameters of the associated body part of the associated patient and physical features of the associated body part of the associated patient comprising an extravascular-extracellular space (EES) of the associated body part of the associated patient; retrieving from the database a reference model of a temperature transport mechanism or a temperature distribution mechanism in a reference body part of the reference model, the reference model comprising data representative of tissue parameters of a model generic patient other than the associated patient and physical features of the model generic patient other than the associated patient; generating by the processing unit, from the reference model and the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, an individualized patient model by registering the data representative of the tissue parameters and the physical features of the model generic patient other than the associated patient of the reference model with the patient image data representative of the patient tissue parameters and the physical features of the associated body part of the associated patient, the individualized patient model modeling one or more of a temperature transport mechanism in the associated body part of the associated patient and/or a temperature distribution mechanism in the associated body part of the associated patient; determining, by the processing unit based on simulating applying heat applied to specific spatial destinations in the individualized patient model, a simulated spatial heat distribution of the simulated heat in the treatment target tissue and in the non-treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient; and storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan in accordance with the processing unit determining that: the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the treatment target tissue matches the desired spatial distribution of heat in the treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient; and the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the non-treatment target tissue matches the desired spatial distribution of heat in the non-treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein: the obtaining the imaging information comprises: obtaining imaging information comprising a series of images of the associated body part of the associated patient comprising a first image of the associated body part obtained by an associated imaging device at a first time, a second image of the associated body part obtained by the associated imaging device at a second time after the first time, and a third image of the associated body part obtained by the associated imaging device at a third time after the second time; the identifying the patient imaging data comprises: determining from the series of images changes in locations of a contrast agent administered at the second time to the associated body part as an exchange of the contrast agent between vascular spaces of the associated body part; and determining an extravascular-extracellular space (EES) of the associated body part as the determined exchange of the contrast agent between the vascular spaces of the associated body part. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan comprises: storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan in accordance with the processing unit determining that: the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the treatment target tissue correlates with a temperature equal to or greater than a first critical temperature; and the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the non-treatment target tissue correlates with a temperature below a second critical temperature different than the first critical temperature. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method according to claim 3, wherein the first critical temperature is about 80 degrees Celsius and the second critical temperature is about 41 degrees Celsius. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein: the reference model of the temperature transport mechanism is a perfusion distribution model of the associated body part obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance or computer tomography; and the reference model of the temperature transport mechanism is a model based on diffusion coefficients or proton frequency-shift alterations, both being obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, further comprising: determining a volume of necrosis in the treatment and non-treatment target tissues of the associated body part of the associated patient based on a time and temperature relationship therein; and adjusting the perfusion distribution model of the associated body part based on the determined volume of necrosis. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the patient image data comprises: identifying by the processing unit, from the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, patient image data being representative of the permeability surface area product of the endothelium of the associated body part of the associated patient. ### Claim 8 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions for planning an application of heat to an associated body part of an associated patient to obtain a desired spatial distribution of heat in treatment and non-treatment target tissues of the associated body part of the associated patient, when executed by one or more processors, causing the one or more processors to perform the steps comprising: obtaining imaging information of an image obtained of the associated body part of the associated patient; identifying by the processing unit, from the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, patient image data, the patient image data being representative of a set of patient tissue parameters of the associated body part of the associated patient and physical features of the associated body part of the associated patient comprising an extravascular-extracellular space (EES) of the associated body part of the associated patient; retrieving from the database a reference model of a temperature transport mechanism or a temperature distribution mechanism in a reference body part of the reference model, the reference model comprising data representative of tissue parameters of a model generic patient other than the associated patient and physical features of the model generic patient other than the associated patient; generating by the processing unit, from the reference model and the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, an individualized patient model by registering the data representative of the tissue parameters and the physical features of the model generic patient other than the associated patient of the reference model with the patient image data representative of the patient tissue parameters and the physical features of the associated body part of the associated patient, the individualized patient model modeling one or more of a temperature transport mechanism in the associated body part of the associated patient and/or a temperature distribution mechanism in the associated body part of the associated patient; determining, by the processing unit based on simulating applying heat applied to specific spatial destinations in the individualized patient model, a simulated spatial heat distribution of the simulated heat in the treatment target tissue and in the non-treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient; and storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan in accordance with the processing unit determining that: the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the treatment target tissue matches the desired spatial distribution of heat in the treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient; and the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the non-treatment target tissue matches the desired spatial distribution of heat in the non-treatment target tissue of the associated body part of the associated patient. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein: the obtaining the imaging information comprises: obtaining imaging information comprising a series of images of the associated body part of the associated patient comprising a first image of the associated body part obtained by an associated imaging device at a first time, a second image of the associated body part obtained by the associated imaging device at a second time after the first time, and a third image of the associated body part obtained by the associated imaging device at a third time after the second time; the identifying the patient imaging data comprises: determining from the series of images changes in locations of a contrast agent administered at the second time to the associated body part as an exchange of the contrast agent between vascular spaces of the associated body part; and determining an extravascular-extracellular space (EES) of the associated body part as the determined exchange of the contrast agent between the vascular spaces of the associated body part. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan comprises: storing the simulated heat treatment in the database as the heat treatment plan in accordance with the processing unit determining that: the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the treatment target tissue correlates with a temperature equal to or greater than a first critical temperature; and the simulated spatial heat distribution of the applied simulated heat in the non-treatment target tissue correlates with a temperature below a second critical temperature different than the first critical temperature. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the first critical temperature is about 80 degrees Celsius and he second critical temperature is about 41 degrees Celsius. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein: the reference model of the temperature transport mechanism is a perfusion distribution model of the associated body part obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance or computer tomography; and the reference model of the temperature transport mechanism is a model based on diffusion coefficients or proton frequency-shift alterations, both being obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, further comprising: determining a volume of necrosis in the treatment and non-treatment target tissues of the associated body part of the associated patient based on a time and temperature relationship therein; and adjusting the perfusion distribution model of the associated body part based on the determined volume of necrosis. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein identifying the patient image data comprises: identifying by the processing unit, from the imaging information of the associated body part of the associated patient, patient image data being representative of the permeability surface area product of the endothelium of the associated body part of the associated patient.