Study on noninvasive measurement of temperature distribution in carbonized moxa-needle treatment

Various heating treatments are performed in the medical field through the world. To monitor the temperature distribution in the treatment area, it is strongly demanded to develop a noninvasive temperature measuring technique. In order to measure the temperature change for the deep target noninvasively, it becomes very difficult because the temperature change can generate very slight difference in the physical parameter in tissues. Recent development of electromagnetic wave technique enables noninvasive temperature measurement inside material using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In this paper, under carbonized moxa-needle treatment which is one of the methods of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, the temperature distribution is measured using MRI by measuring the phase of longitudinal relaxation time of proton. The result of temperature analysis during carbonized moxa-needle treatment is also reported.