2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Quantitative early detection and estimation of tumor thickness for skin cancer via non-invasive measurement of thermophysical property
| Project/Area Number |
17K14599
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Thermal engineering
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| Research Institution | Hirosaki University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | 生体伝熱 / 熱物性計測 / 皮膚がん / 腫瘍深達度 / 逆問題解析 / 有効熱伝導率 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In this study, the feasibility of a quantitative method of early detection and estimation of tumor thickness for a skin cancer via a non-invasive measurement of thermophysical property was investigated. A 2D axisymmetric multi-layered calculation model was proposed. An invasive method for estimating the tumor thickness based on the thermal conductivity measurement was proposed. The effects of epidermis thickness, thermal characteristics of tumor, tumor thickness, and thermal penetration depth on thermal conductivity measurements were investigated by a numerical simulation and experiment. Furthermore, a clinical experiment on skin cancer patients was performed. The results suggest that effective thermal conductivity was negative for in situ melanoma compared to that for healthy skin. However, in accordance with tumor progression, effective thermal conductivity was larger in invasive melanoma.
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| Free Research Field |
熱工学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
本研究で実施した進行度の異なる皮膚がん患者に対する熱伝導率計測は，過去に例がなく極めて貴重なデータである．特に，表皮内がんと浸潤がんは異なる伝熱特性を示すことが実験的に明らかとなり，医学や医工学分野に大きな貢献ができた．また，諸種条件下における皮膚伝熱特性が明らかとなったことにより，提案する手法の診断精度向上が可能となった．
実際の臨床現場では，目視にて予想した進行度によって，侵襲的な病理検査の是非を決定している．本研究で提案する熱物性計測による皮膚がんの定量的病期診断が実用化されれば，不要な外科的切除の回避に繋がり，進行段階に合わせた適切な治療方法の選択が可能となると考える．
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