Measurement of Tissue Heat Load Around a Transcutaneous Sensor Using a Thermal Imaging Camera - A Pilot Study

The current trend in modern medicine is to use as many non-invasive techniques as possible, especially in the diagnostic process. Transcutaneous techniques, called tcp, are used to continuously monitor the evolution of partial blood pressures of O
2
and CO
2
, reducing the need for blood draws. The measuring element must induce a local hyperthermic effect; therefore, temperatures in the range of 38 to 44 °C are set. As the temperature increases, the accuracy of the measurement increases, but there is thermal stress on the tissue. This paper investigates the heat distribution around the tcp sensor using an infrared thermal imager.