MICROWAVE RADIOMETRY OFFERS A MEANS FOR NONINVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE THAT COULD BE USEFUL FOR DIATHERMY/HYPERTHERMIA CONTROL, AS THE REALTIVELY LONG WAVELENGTHS ALLOW DEPTH SENSING.

MICROWAVE RADIOMETRY OFFERS A MEANS FOR NONINVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE THAT COULD BE USEFUL FOR DIATHERMY/HYPERTHERMIA CONTROL, AS THE REALTIVELY LONG WAVELENGTHS ALLOW DEPTH SENSING. THIS PROMISE HAS BEEN FRUSTRATED BY SEVERE LOSS OF SIGNALS FROM DEPTH SITES WHEN DIELECTRIC MEDIA ARE INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE THERMAL SOURCE AND THE RADIOMETER. THUS, SUPERFICIAL THERMAL SOURCES OVERWHELM THE DEEPER SOURCES. THIS LIMITATION IMPEDES RADIOMETER APPLICATION TO DIATHERMY/HYPERTHERMIA CONTROL. AS HYPERTHERMIA IS A VALUABLE ADJUNCT TO RADIOTHERAPY AND CHEMOTHERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER, THESE LIMITATIONS MAY AFFECT OVERALL PROGRESS IN THE AREA. AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO ENHANCE RADIOMETRIC SENSIBILITY TO DEPTH THERMAL SOURCES IS THE USE OF MULTIPLE ANTENNAS WITH CROSS-PRODUCT PROCESSING TO SCAN A ZONE COMMON TO TWO ANTENNAS. CROSS- PRODUCT PROCESSING ENHANCES SENSIBILITY OF DEPTH SOURCES BY PEAKING THE SYSTEM'S RESPONSE AT VARIOUS RANGES. IN ADDITION, CORRELATION RADIOMETRY ENHANCES SPATIAL AND THERMAL RESOLUTION BY THE DETECTION OF THERMAL GRADIENTS. THE CORRELATION RADIOMETER IS ESPECIALLY SUITABLE FOR USE WITH TWO PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED WAVEGUIDES, 918 MHZ CONTACT APPLICATORS. A DIPLEXLER MAY BE USED TO SEPARATE THE TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER PORTIONS OF THE EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE REAL TIME CONTROL WHEREBY THE ANTENNAS SERVE BOTH ASSENSORS (FOR THE CORRELATION RADIOMETER) AND EFFECTORS (FOR THE DIATHERMY/HYPERTHERMIA).