WO2017101852A1

WO2017101852A1 - Device for accurately measuring and identifying cancerous area based on body surface temperature field

Info

Publication number: WO2017101852A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/110369
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hong KANG
Original assignee: Well Diagnostics Technology (International) Corporation
Priority date: 2015-12-18
Filing date: 2016-12-16
Publication date: 2017-06-22
Also published as: CN105520721A

Abstract

A temperature conduction device(100) relating to the technical field of temperature sensing is disclosed. The temperature conduction device(100) comprises: at least one conduction unit(102) constructed to electrically couple at least one temperature sensor in a detachable manner respectively and conduct temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit; a bearing part(104) constructed to bear the at least one conduction unit(102). The temperature sensors may be flexibly provided on the temperature conduction device(100) as required, such that surface temperature information of any one or more points on any part of a study object may be collected.

Description

DEVICE FOR ACCURATELY MEASURING AND IDENTIFYING A CANCEROUS AREA BASED ON A BODY SURFAC TEMPERATURE FIELD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to temperature sensing， and particularly to a temperature conduction device.

BACKGROUND

Breast diseases are common diseases endangering the health of women. Routine inspection methods for the breast diseases include X-Ray inspection and ultrasonic inspection， in which images of structural variations produced by pathological changes of breast tissues are analyzed. Presently， pathology inspection is a popular diagnosis standard for the breast diseases. With improvement of living standards and health care consciousness of people， infrared thermal imaging becomes an emerging imaging technology. As the infrared thermal imaging is noninvasive and easy to operate， it is gradually known to people and applied for evaluation of the breast diseases and health care， wherein relevant pathological information and extent of pathological changes are evaluated or predicted according to body surface temperature distribution of breast tissues.

Study on the infrared thermal imaging started in 1970s， and the Euro-American countries are the first to apply the infrared thermal imaging technology to the medical field mainly for diagnosis of breast cancer. In 1983， the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally approved and accredited the infrared thermal imaging technology as an auxiliary method for the diagnosis of breast cancer. From then on， the infrared thermal imaging technology started to be applied to various areas of medicine.

However， due to restrictions of infrared sensors and computer technology levels and lack of experiences of thermograms interpretation， the infrared thermal imaging technology produced a high proportion of false positive results in disease diagnosis and thus was questioned by people； consequently， the application of the infrared thermal imaging technology in medicine was at a low ebb in late 1980s. After 1990， with fast development of infrared sensor technology， especially the improvement of computer image processing technology， the infrared thermal imaging technology again attracted attentions of scholars in medicine and physics. Currently， the infrared thermal imaging technology is embraced by extensive medical workers and high-risk individuals because of its advantages such as convenient manipulation， low cost， non-invasiveness and ease of repetition. Furthermore， with the infrared thermal imaging technology， a doctor may also conveniently inspect relevant diseases causing thermal distribution asymmetry between left and right breasts of a human body， such as tumor， inflammation， and infection， which facilitates early detection of the breast diseases while reducing unnecessary pathology inspection of histological section. However， although lots of researchers have done a lot of work on inspection and diagnosis of the breast diseases using the infrared thermal imaging technology， standards for diagnosing and evaluating breast diseases of women based on thermal images are not established yet， and researches on analyzing the thermal images based on thermal symmetry and Thermal Texture Map (TTM) are not well developed up to now. Moreover， the infrared imaging technology has disadvantages such as poor temperature sensing accuracy， having to carry out the inspection process in hospitals， which cannot be carried out autonomously by high-risk individuals， and difficulty in detecting a breast cancer lesion having a diameter less than 0.5 cm.

Again， the above infrared thermal imaging technology is a one-time imaging in which temperature data that is collected and used for diagnosis is the temperature data of a human body at a moment， which cannot reflect rhythm of body temperature change produced by a temperature-relevant disease in a high-risk area of body surface within a continuous period of time.

Development of wearable portable devices， sensors， and Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMSs) makes it possible to continuously monitor body temperature in a portable and self-service manner. For example， US patent application No. 20100056946 discloses a system for analyzing thermal data based on breast surface temperature to determine suspect conditions， which is a product based on the above technology..

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Study shows that most diseases of a human body are associated with temperature variations of corresponding parts. Therefore， monitoring the temperature， especially the body surface temperature of a lesion site， is important for evaluating a health state of the lesion site. In some embodiments of the invention， a temperature conduction/sensing device will be illustratively described only with a breast disease of a woman and its lesion site as an example.

Although breast diseases， for example， breast cancer， of women may， with a greater probability， attack several certain positions of the breast， lesion sites may also be distributed， with a certain probability， at other positions of the breast. Therefore， it is necessary to monitor a temperature field of the breast throughout a whole surface of the breast.

However， the number of temperature sensors is limited and the distribution of the temperature sensors is sparse on such products including those disclosed by the patent document cited in the background； consequently， during use， particularly autonomous use by a user， a higher coverage with respect to a to-be-screened lesion site， for example， the breast， by the sensors cannot be implemented， so detailed information about the temperature filed of the whole breast cannot be collected.

In view of the above defects mentioned in the background in combination with the above study of the inventor， the invention provides a novel temperature conduction/sensing device so that temperature sensors may be flexibly provided on any part of a study object， for example， the breast of a woman so as to collect temperature information of any one or more points or the whole area of the part.

An embodiment of the invention provides a temperature conduction device， comprising： at least one conduction unit constructed to electrically couple at least one temperature sensor in a detachable manner， respectively， and conduct temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit； a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one conduction unit.

The temperature sensor may be flexibly provided on the temperature conduction device as needed so that the surface temperature information of any one or more points on any part， for example， the chest/breast of a study object， for example， the human body， may be collected. Therefore， when applied to collect the temperature information of the breast， the temperature conduction/sensing device according to some embodiments of the invention may also be considered as a breast temperature field specificity spectrograph.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a configurable temperature conduction device， comprising： at least one conduction channel； a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one conduction channel， wherein a coupling part is provided at a first end of the conduction channel and arranged to electrically couple a temperature sensor.

The temperature sensor may be flexibly provided on the temperature conduction device so that the surface temperature information of any one or more points on any part， for example， the chest/breast of a study object， for example， the human body， may be collected.

A still another embodiment of the invention provides a temperature sensing device， comprising： at least one temperature sensor； at least one conduction unit constructed to electrically couple the at least one temperature sensor respectively and conduct temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit； at least one carrier unit constructed to carry the at least one temperature sensor； and a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one carrier unit， wherein the at least one carrier unit is detachably or fixedly engaged onto the bearing part.

The carrier unit carrying the temperature sensor may be flexibly moved on the temperature sensing device so that the surface temperature information of any one or more points on any part， for example， the chest/breast of a study object， for example， the human body， may be collected.

A yet still another embodiment of the invention provides a temperature sensing device， comprising： a bearing part； a conduction channel； a positioning part provided on a surface of the bearing part； and an array of temperature sensors provided on the bearing part and relocatable based on the positioning part， wherein the array of temperature sensors is coupled to the conduction channel.

The array of temperature sensors may be moved on the bearing part based on an orientation indication of the positioning part so that the surface temperature information of any one or more points on any part， for example， the chest/breast of a study object， for example， the human body， may be collected.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features， objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent through reading detailed description of unrestrictive embodiments in conjunction with accompany drawings， wherein a same or similar reference number represents a same or similar feature.

Fig. 1 illustrates a diagram of a temperature conduction device according to an embodiment of the invention；

Fig. 2a illustrates a schematic diagram of an encapsulation of a temperature sensor in which two pins of a thermistor is kept outside of a metal casing；

Fig. 2b illustrates a schematic diagram of an encapsulation of a temperature sensor in which two pins of a thermistor is encapsulated within a metal casing；

Fig. 3a illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a clip-type coupling part；

Fig. 3b illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a hole-type coupling part；

Fig. 3c illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a spring piece snap-fit coupling part；

Fig. 4a illustrates a side view of a conduction unit including a receiving part for receiving the temperature sensor shown in Fig. 2a；

Fig. 4b illustrates a side view of a conduction unit including a receiving part for receiving the temperature sensors shown in Figs. 2a-2b；

Fig. 5 illustrates a diagram of a carrier unit 106 including at least one temperature sensor；

Fig. 6 illustrates a diagram of a temperature sensing device according to another embodiment of the invention；

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of a bearing part having a positioning part in a temperature conduction/sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Now， exemplary implementations will be described more comprehensively by referring to the accompany drawings. However， the exemplary implementations may be practiced in various ways， and should not be construed as being limited to the implementations illustrated herein. On the contrary， the implementations are provided to make the invention comprehensive and complete and convey the conception of the exemplary implementations to a person skilled in the art. For clarity， the components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn in scale. In the drawings， a same reference number represents a same or similar structure， so their detailed description will be omitted.

In addition， the described features， structures or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable way. In the following description， many specific details are provided for fully understanding the embodiments of the invention. However， a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details or by employing other methods， components， materials and so on. In other cases， well known structures， materials or operations are not illustrated in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the technical creativity of the invention.

As compared with temperature information of a single point on a part of a study object， the temperature information of multiple points on the part may reflect temperature distribution and underlying physiological state of the part more comprehensively. Furthermore， the temperature information of a particular position or area on the part of the study object may be more valuable for determining a physiological state of the part.

Therefore， a temperature conduction device according to some embodiments of the invention will collect the temperature information of any one or more points on any part of the study object as required.

Fig. 1 illustrates a diagram of a temperature conduction device according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in Fig. 1， the temperature conduction device 100 includes at least one conduction unit 102 (for example， 102-1， 102-2，...， 102-N as shown in Fig. 1， where N is an integer larger than 0) and a bearing part 104， wherein： the at least one conduction unit 102 is constructed to electrically couple at least one temperature sensor in a detachable manner， respectively， and conduct the temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit； the bearing part 104 is constructed to bear the at least one conduction unit 102.

In some embodiments， each conduction unit 102 may be electrically coupled to a corresponding temperature sensor. However， in actual application， it is unnecessary for each conduction unit 102 to electrically couple a corresponding temperature sensor， and one or more conduction units on the bearing part 104 may be selected to electrically couple corresponding temperature sensors. In this way， the temperature sensor may be relocated on the temperature conduction device 100， so the temperature information of any one or more points on any part of the study object may be collected.

In some embodiments， as shown in Fig. 1， the conduction unit 102 may conduct the temperature information sensed by the temperature sensor to the information processing unit via for example， a pair of connection wires. Here， the pair of connection wires may be a part of the conduction unit 102 and may be borne within the bearing part 104 or extend from the conduction unit 102 to outside of the bearing part 104. It should be appreciated that for clarity and simplicity， Fig. 1 merely illustrates the connection wires of some conduction units 102， and the pair of connection wires of each conduction unit 102 are combined into a bundle as shown. In actuality， each conduction unit 102 may have corresponding connection wires， and the pair of connection wires of each conduction unit 102 may be two separate connection wires.

In some embodiments， the temperature sensor may be implemented by for example， a thermistor having a Negative Thermal Coefficient (NTC) . As the temperature sensor is used to measure the temperature of a part of the study object， for example， the human body， while the shape of the thermistor is not smooth and thus may bring hurt or poor tactile sense to the study object， in some embodiments， a metal casing with good heat conducting properties， generally referred to as a heat-conducting casing， may be used to encapsulate the thermistor so as to improve comfort and security of the temperature sensor. Fig. 2a illustrates a schematic diagram of an encapsulation of a temperature sensor in which two pins of a thermistor is kept outside of a metal casing. Fig. 2b illustrates a schematic diagram of an encapsulation of a temperature sensor in which two pins of a thermistor is encapsulated within a metal casing.

In some embodiments， when the temperature sensor is encapsulated as shown in Fig. 2a， the conduction unit 102 may be electrically coupled to the temperature sensor via clips or holes. That is， the holes or the clips， for example， a socket， may serve as a coupling part to electrically couple the temperature sensor. Fig. 3a illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a clip-type coupling part； Fig. 3b illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a hole-type coupling part. As can be seen from Figs. 2a and 3a-3b， in order to electrically couple the temperature sensor to the conduction unit 102， two pins of the temperature sensor may be plugged into two clips/holes， respectively， in the clip/hole-type coupling part of the conduction unit 102. Moreover， when it is required to displace the temperature sensor， the two pins of the temperature sensor may be pulled out of the coupling part of the conduction unit 102 that is electrically coupled to the temperature sensor and then plugged into the coupling part of another conduction unit 102.

In some other embodiments， when the temperature sensor is encapsulated as shown in Fig. 2b， the conduction unit 102 may electrically couple the temperature sensor in a spring piece snap-fit manner. That is， two snap-fit spring pieces may serve as the coupling part to electrically couple the temperature sensor. Fig. 3c illustrates a top view of a conduction unit including a spring piece snap-fit coupling part. As can be seen from Figs. 2b and 3c， in order to electrically couple the temperature sensor to the conduction unit 102， the temperature sensor may be firstly provided on a base on which the snap-fit spring pieces are mounted and then the two snap-fit spring pieces are displaced to the two pins of the temperature sensor 102， respectively.

In the embodiments described in combination with Figs. 2a-2b and Figs. 3a-3b， the coupling part of the conduction unit 102 may serve not only to electrically couple the temperature sensor but also mechanically fix the physical position of the temperature sensor. Moreover， it should be appreciated that when the temperature conduction device 100 includes multiple conduction units 102， the conduction units may be electrically coupled to the temperature sensors in a same way or in different ways. In other words， the conduction units may be electrically coupled to the temperature sensors by means of one or more of clip， hole， and spring piece snap-fit.

A person skilled in the art should appreciate that there may be some variations to the embodiments described in combination with Figs. 1， 2a-2b， and 3a-3b. For example， the conduction unit 102 may be considered as a conduction channel， and the temperature conduction device 100 according to some embodiments of the invention may include at least one conduction channel 102 and a bearing part 104 constructed to bear the at least one conduction channel 102， wherein a coupling part is provided at a first end of the conduction channel 102 to electrically couple the temperature sensor. Alternatively， the coupling part may be one or more of clip， hole， and spring piece snap-fit.

Furthermore， in the embodiments described in combination with Figs. 2a-2b and 3a-3c， as the metal casing of the temperature sensor occupies some space， the conduction unit 102 may further include a receiving part for receiving the temperature sensor that is electrically coupled to the coupling part. Fig. 4a illustrates a side view of a conduction unit including a receiving part for receiving the temperature sensor shown in Fig. 2a. Fig. 4b illustrates a side view of a conduction unit including a receiving part for receiving the temperature sensors shown in Figs. 2b-2c.

In some embodiments， as shown in Fig. 4a， two circular grooves at upper and lower layers may be formed within the bearing part 104 as the receiving part， and the coupling part shown in Figs. 3a-3b (not shown in Fig. 4) is provided in a lower part of the circular groove at the lower layer， wherein the diameter of the circular groove at the upper layer is larger than that of the circular groove at the lower layer. When the temperature sensor shown in Fig. 2a is provided in the conduction unit shown in Fig. 4a， the metal casing of the temperature sensor is received in the circular groove at the upper layer， and the two pins of the temperature sensor are electrically coupled to the coupling part via the circular groove at the lower layer. With the provision of the conduction unit shown in Fig. 4a， the upper surface of the bearing part 104 may be a flat surface， so that the comfort and security of the temperature conduction device 100 may be further improved. Furthermore， in order to physically fix the temperature sensor in the conduction unit shown in fig. 4a， elastic elements may be provided at for example， the entrance or the inner surface of the groove at the upper layer and/or the groove at the lower layer， so as to further limit the physical position (not shown) of the temperature sensor.

In some other embodiments， as shown in Fig. 4b， only a circular groove layer may be formed in the bearing part 104 as the receiving part. At this point， the clip-type/hole-type coupling part as shown in Figs. 3a-3b (not shown in Fig. 4b) may be formed at the bottom of the receiving part， and/or the snap-fit coupling part as shown in Fig. 3c may be formed at the top of the receiving part. When the temperature sensor shown in Fig. 2a is provided in the conduction unit shown in Fig. 4b，the metal casing of the temperature sensor is received in the circular groove and the two pins of the temperature sensor are plugged into the clip-type/hole-type coupling part at the bottom of the circular groove. When the temperature sensor shown in fig. 2b is provided in the conduction unit shown in fig. 4b， the metal casing of the temperature sensor is received in the circular groove and physically fixed and electrically coupled to the two snap-fit spring pieces of the snap-fit coupling part.

A person skilled in the art should appreciate that although Fig. 4a illustrates the circular grooves at the upper and lower layers as the receiving part and Fig. 4b illustrates one layer of circular groove as the receiving part， the receiving part may also be formed as a circular through hole having upper and lower layers or a circular through hole having only one layer as required in actual application.

That is to say， the conduction unit 102 may include only the coupling part， and may also include both of the coupling part and the receiving part corresponding to the coupling part； the receiving part may be recessed for adapting the metal casing of the temperature sensor， and may further include an elastic snap-fit element to receive the temperature sensor detachably. In some embodiments， the bearing part 104 may be provided with holes for at least partially forming the receiving part. That is， the holes on the bearing part may form the receiving part for the temperature sensor along with fixing means such as the snap-fit spring piece.

It should be noted that although the bearing part 104 and the conduction unit 102 are shown as circles， the bearing part 104 and the conduction unit 102 may also be implemented as various other shapes such as rectangle， ellipse， and diamond， and the shape of the bearing part 104 may be the same as or different from that of the conduction unit 102. Furthermore， the encapsulation shape of the temperature sensor is not necessarily a circle， but may vary with the shape of the conduction unit 102.

In some embodiments， the temperature conduction device 100 shown in Fig. 1 may further include at least one temperature sensor shown in Figs. 2a-2b. In an embodiment in which the conduction unit includes only a coupling part， the at least one temperature sensor may be operably and electrically coupled to the coupling part of at least part of the conduction units borne on the bearing part 104， respectively. In an embodiment in which the conduction unit includes both a coupling part and a receiving part， the at least one temperature sensor may be operably provided in the receiving part of at least part of the conduction units borne on the bearing part 104 respectively and electrically coupled to a corresponding coupling part.

For the temperature sensors shown in Figs. 2a-2b and the temperature conduction device 100 shown in Fig. 1， the temperature sensors may be most flexibly provided on the bearing part 104 so that body surface temperature information of any one or more points of a part， for example， a breast or chest of the study object， for example， the human body， may be collected. Furthermore， the temperature information of high resolution of a whole area of the part， for example， the breast or the chest of the study object， for example， the human body， may be collected by displacing the temperature sensors on the bearing part 104.

However， when the temperature conduction device 100 includes multiple temperature sensors that are separate from each other shown in Figs. 2a-2b， there may be some inconvenience in use. For example， when it is required to displace a relatively large number of temperature sensors from the conduction units in an area to the conduction units in another area on the bearing part 104， it is necessary to displace the temperature sensors respectively.

In another embodiment of the invention， the temperature conduction device 100 shown in Fig. 1 may further include at least one carrier unit 106 constructed to carry the at least one temperature sensor and detachably engage with the bearing part 104 so as to electrically couple the at least one conduction unit 102 on the bearing part 104 to the at least one temperature sensor respectively. In this way， the temperature sensors may be collectively displaced by displacing the carrier unit 106 so that the convenience of using the temperature conduction device 100 is improved.

Fig. 5 illustrates a diagram of a carrier unit 106 including at least one temperature sensor. As shown in Fig. 5， the carrier unit 106 may carry at least one temperature sensor 108， wherein the temperature sensor 108 is detachably or fixedly mounted on the carrier unit 106. In an embodiment， the temperature conduction device 100 may further include a fixing part (not shown) constructed to detachably engage the carrier unit 106 onto the bearing part 104. It should be appreciated that the fixing part may be attached to the carrier unit 106 or may be a separate component， for example， an adhesive-tape type stickup component or a nylon buckle including a nylon hook belt and a nylon velvet belt which are provided on the bearing part and the carrier unit respectively. In other words， the fixing part is provided between the bearing part and the carrier unit and operable to fix relative positions of them.

In the embodiments described in combination with Figs. 1-5， the temperature sensor usually has a certain volume， so the temperature sensors cannot be distributed on the bearing part 104 or the carrier unit 106 too densely. When the temperature sensors are distributed very densely， the temperature sensors may contact each other， which may lead to mutual interference of the temperature information sensed by the temperature sensors. However， when the temperature sensors are distributed on the bearing part 104 sparsely， the sensing resolution of the temperature field of the part measured by the temperature sensors may not satisfy the requirements of a specific study purpose. Therefore， in some embodiments， the distribution density of the temperature sensors on the carrier unit 106 is set to smaller than that on the bearing part 104. In this way， the temperature information of high resolution for the part of the study object may be collected by displacing the carrier unit 106 with a relatively small displacement step on the bearing part 104.

Fig. 6 illustrates a diagram of a temperature sensing device according to another embodiment of the invention. As shown in Fig. 6， the temperature conduction device 200 includes at least one conduction unit 202， at least one temperature sensor 204， at least one carrier unit 206 and a bearing part 208， wherein： the at least one conduction unit 202 is constructed to electrically couple the at least one temperature sensor respectively and conduct the temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit； the at least one carrier unit 206 is constructed to carry at most a part of the at least one conduction unit and the at least one temperature sensor； the bearing part 208 is constructed to bear the at least one carrier unit 206， wherein the at least one carrier unit 206 is detachably or fixedly engaged on the bearing part 208.

In some embodiments， as shown in Fig. 6， the temperature sensor 204 may be similar to the temperature sensors shown in Figs. 2a-2b； the conduction unit 202 may be similar to the conduction units shown in Figs. 3a-3c and 4a-4b； the temperature sensor 204 or the combination of the temperature sensor 204 and the conduction unit 202 may be detachably or fixedly borne on the bearing unit 206.

In some embodiments， the conduction unit 202 may conduct the temperature information sensed by the temperature sensor 204 to the information processing unit via， for example， a pair of connection wires. Here， the pair of connection wires may serve as a part of the conduction unit 202 and may be carried within the carrier unit 206 or extend from the conduction unit 202 to outside of the carrier unit 206. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that for clarity and simplicity ， Fig. 6 merely illustrates the connection wires of some conduction units 202， and the pair of connection wires of each conduction unit 202 are combined into a bundle as shown. Actually， each conduction unit 202 may have corresponding connection wires， and the pair of connection wires of each conduction unit 202 may be two separate connection wires. In some other embodiments， the conduction unit 202 may also be implemented only as a pair of connection wires without including the coupling part and/or the receiving part. In these embodiments， the pair of connection wires as the conduction unit may be integrated within a same bundle or may be two separate connection wires. At this point， the conduction unit 202 may be connected between the information processing unit and the temperature sensor 204 carried by the carrier unit 206.

In some embodiments， the temperature conduction device 100 shown in Fig. 1 and the temperature sensing device shown in Fig. 6 may also include the information processing unit configured to receive the temperature information sensed by the temperature sensor via the conduction unit and transmit the received temperature information via wired and/or wireless communication.

Specifically， in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1， the information processing unit may be embedded within the bearing part 104 and signal connected with respective conduction units via the connection wires embedded within the bearing part 104； or the information processing unit may be located outside of the bearing part 104 and signal connected with respective conduction units 102 via the connection wires extending from the conduction unit 102 to outside of the bearing part 104. For example， in some embodiments， a second end of the at least one conduction unit/channel 102 may be drawn out of the bearing part 104 in a bundle and connected to the information processing unit.

Similarly， in the embodiment shown in Fig. 6， the information processing unit may be embedded within each carrier unit 206 and signal connected to respective conduction units 202 via the connection wires embedded within the carrier unit 206， in which case the information processing units in every carrier unit may be considered as a same information processing unit logically. Otherwise， the information processing unit may be embedded within the bearing part 208 or provided outside of the bearing part 208， and signal connected with respective conduction units 202 via the connection wires extending from the conduction units 202 to outside of the carrier unit 206. In some other embodiments of the invention， the information processing unit may include a processor and a wireless communication module， wherein the processor receives a sensing signal from the temperature sensor via the conduction channel and transmits the sensing signal via the wireless communication module.

Here， the information processing unit may transmit the received temperature information to for example， a physiological index monitoring and analysis system as basic information for analyzing the physiologic state of the study object. In some embodiments， the information processing unit may be implemented by hardware， software， firmware， or a combination thereof. When implemented by hardware， it may be for example， an electronic circuit， an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) ， a suitable firmware， a plug-in， a function card and so on. When implemented by software， the information processing unit is a program or code segment for implementing required tasks to be executed by the processor. The program or code segment may be stored in a machine-readable medium or transmitted in a transmission medium or communication link through data signals carried on carriers. The machine-readable medium may include any medium capable of storing or transmitting information. Examples of the machine-readable medium include an electronic circuit， a semiconductor storage device， a ROM， a flash memory， an EROM， a flexible disk， a CD-ROM， an optical disk， a hard disk， an optical media， an RF link and so on. The code segment may be downloaded via a computer network such as Internet or Intranet.

In some embodiments， in order to explicitly indicate relative positions on the bearing part， a positioning part may be further provided on the bearing parts shown in Figs. 1 and 6. Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of a bearing part having a positioning part in a temperature conduction/sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. Here， for clarity， the conduction unit and the temperature sensor borne on the bearing part are not shown. As shown in Fig. 7， the positioning part may be constituted of coordinates and/or indicators distributed on the bearing part. Alternatively， the coordinates may be polar coordinates or rectangular coordinates， and the indicators may be marks along radial directions and/or marks along a circumference. In this way， the information processing unit may record not only the temperature information from the temperature sensor but also the relative positions of the temperature sensors sensing the temperature information on the bearing part. So， it may be avoided to repeat or omit sensing of the temperature of any one or more points on the part of the study object， and accurate temperature distribution information about the part of the study object may be provided. Similarly， there may be some variations to the embodiment described in combination with Fig. 6. For example， the conduction unit 202 may also be considered as the conduction channel， and the temperature sensing device 200 according to some embodiments of the invention may include the bearing part 208， the conduction channel 202， the positioning part shown in Fig. 7 provided on a surface of the bearing part， and an array of temperature sensors 204 provided on the bearing part and relocatable based on the positioning part， wherein the array of temperature sensors are coupled to the conduction channels 202.

Furthermore， in the temperature sensing device 200 described in combination with Fig. 6， the bearing part 208 may further include a carrier unit constructed to integrate the array of temperature sensors and provided on the bearing part in a relocatable manner； the conduction channel is at least a pair of wires， at least a part of which are borne by the bearing part and correspondingly connected to at least one of the array of temperature sensors.

In the temperature conduction/sensing device of the above embodiments， the conduction channel may include only the coupling part rather than the receiving part. At this point， the at least one temperature sensor may be operably and electrically coupled to the coupling part of at least part of the conduction channels， so that an electric connection among the conduction channel， the coupling part and the temperature sensor is formed. Here， the coupling part further serves to substantially mechanically fix the temperature sensor.

In the temperature conduction/sensing device of some other embodiments， the conduction channel may include both the coupling part and the receiving part， and the at least one temperature sensor may be operably provided within the receiving part of at least part of the conduction channels respectively and electrically coupled to a corresponding coupling part. In this case， the receiving part may further fix the position of the temperature sensor.

The temperature sensing device or the temperature conduction device of the above embodiments of the invention may be used to sense and conduct human body temperature， for example， the body surface temperature of the breast or chest， i.e. may be applied as a chest/breast surface temperature conducting device. Correspondingly， in the application scenario of the chest/breast surface temperature sensing device of the embodiments， temperatures may be body surface temperatures of the chest or breast.

For example， when the temperature of the breast is monitored by the temperature conduction device or the temperature sensing device according to embodiments of the invention， for convenience， the bearing part may be provided within a cup of a bra and may be a symmetric shape (for example， a circle) centered on a nipple. Furthermore， the conduction units may be distributed on the bearing part along radial direction relative to the nipple， i.e. the symmetric center， or along the radial direction outward.

As the breast possibly has a lesion with a diameter of 0.1mm-0.2mm and the temperature abnormal area produced by the lesion of this diameter may have a diameter of approximately 0.1cm-0.5cm； in order to sense the temperature of the breast with a high resolution， the space between the conduction units 102 shown in Fig. 1 may be set to 0.1cm-0.5cm or the displacement step of the carrier unit shown in Fig. 6 for displacing on the bearing part may be set to 0.1cm-0.5cm.

When the temperature of the breast is monitored by the temperature conduction device described in conjunction with Figs. 1-5， the temperature of the breast may be sensed with a high resolution by arranging the temperature sensors on the conduction units on the bearing part and displacing the temperature sensors based on the spacing between the conduction units， or by arranging and displacing the temperature sensors according to the relative positions indicated by the positioning part.

When the temperature of the breast is monitored by the temperature sensing device described in conjunction with Figs. 2-6， the temperature of the breast may be sensed with a high resolution by arranging and displacing the at least one carrier unit based on the relative positions indicated by the positioning part. For example， the at least one carrier unit may be provided on the bearing part along radial directions relative to t the nipple or along the radial directions outward.

A person skilled in the art should appreciate that the above embodiments are illustrative rather than restrictive. Technical features in different embodiments may be combined to achieve beneficial effects. A person skilled in the art should be able to appreciate and implement embodiments including variations as compared with the above described embodiments on the basis of studying the accompany drawings， the specification and the claims. In the claims， the term of “comprising” does not exclude other means or steps； the indefinite article of “a/an” does not exclude the meaning of “multiple/aplurality of” ； and the terms of “first” and “second” are used to label a name rather than indicate a particular sequence. Any reference number in the claims should not be construed as limiting the protection scopes of the claims. Functions of multiple parts in the claims may be implemented by a single hardware or software module. Some technical features in different dependent claims may be combined to achieve the beneficial effects.

Claims

A temperature conduction device， comprising：

at least one conduction unit constructed to electrically couple at least one temperature sensor respectively in a detachable manner and conduct temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit；

a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one conduction unit.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 1， further comprising：

the at least one temperature sensor constructed to electrically couple at least part of the at least one conduction unit.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 2， further comprising：

at least one carrier unit constructed to carry the at least one temperature sensor and engage onto the bearing part in a detachable manner， so as to make the at least one conduction unit electrically couple the at least one temperature sensor respectively.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 3， further comprising：

a fixing part constructed to engage the at least one carrier unit onto the bearing part in a detachable manner.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 3， wherein a distribution density of the at least one temperature sensor on the at least one carrier unit is smaller than that of the at least one carrier unit on the bearing part.
The temperature conduction device according to any of claims 1-5， wherein each of the at least one conduction unit comprises：

a coupling part constructed to electrically couple any of the at least one temperature sensor；

a receiving part constructed to receive the temperature sensor electrically coupling the coupling part.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 6， wherein the coupling part is further constructed to physically fix the temperature sensor electrically coupling thereto.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 6， wherein a heat-conducting casing is provided outside of each of the at least one temperature sensor and is received and fixed in the receiving part.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 6， wherein the at least one conduction unit is constructed to electrically couple the at least one temperature sensor by means of one or more of clip， hole， and spring piece snap-fit.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 5， further comprising：

a positioning part constructed to indicate relative positions on the bearing part.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 10， wherein the positioning part refers to coordinates and/or indicators distributed on the bearing part.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 11， wherein the coordinates are polar coordinates or rectangular coordinates.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 11， wherein the indicators are marks along radial directions and/or marks along a circumference.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 10， wherein the bearing part is provided within a cup of a bra.
The temperature conduction device according to claim 5， further comprising：

the information processing unit configured to receive the temperature information via the at least one conduction unit and transmit the temperature information via wireless and/or wired communication.
A temperature sensing device， comprising：

at least one temperature sensor；

at least one conduction unit constructed to electrically couple the at least one temperature sensor respectively and conduct temperature information sensed by the at least one temperature sensor to an information processing unit；

at least one carrier unit constructed to carry the at least one temperature sensor； and

a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one carrier unit， wherein the at least one carrier unit is detachably or fixedly engaged onto the bearing part.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 16， further comprising：

a positioning part constructed to indicate relative positions on the bearing part.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 17， wherein the positioning part refers to coordinates and/or indicators distributed on the bearing part.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 18， wherein the coordinates are polar coordinates or rectangular coordinates.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 18， wherein the indicators are marks along radial directions and/or marks along a circumference.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 20， wherein the bearing part has a center symmetrical shape and the at least one carrier unit is distributed on the bearing part along radial directions about a symmetrical center or along the radial directions outward.
The temperature sensing device according to any of claims 16-21， further comprising：

the information processing unit configured to receive the temperature information via the at least one conduction unit and transmit the temperature information via wireless and/or wired communication.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 22， wherein the bearing part is provided in a cup of a bra.
A configurable temperature conduction device， comprising：

at least one conduction channel；

a bearing part constructed to bear the at least one conduction channel， wherein

a coupling part is provided at a first end of the conduction channel and arranged to electrically couple a temperature sensor.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 24， wherein the conduction channel further comprises a receiving part provided corresponding to the coupling part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 25， wherein a hole is provided in the bearing part so as to at least partially form the receiving part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 25 or 26， further comprising：

at least one temperature sensor operably provided in the receiving part of at least part of the at least one conduction channel respectively and electrically coupling a corresponding coupling part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 24， further comprising：

at least one temperature sensor operably and electrically coupling the coupling part of at least part of the at least one conduction channel， respectively.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to any of claims 24-28， wherein the coupling part is further arranged to substantially fix the temperature sensor.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 27， wherein the coupling part is a socket and the temperature sensor is a thermistor having two poles plugged in the socket.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 30， wherein a heat-conducting casing is provided outside of the temperature sensor and substantially fixed to the receiving part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 31， wherein the receiving part is recessed to adapt the heat-conducting casing and comprises an elastic buckle for detachably receiving the heat-conducting casing.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to any of claims 24-32， wherein a second end of the at least one conduction channel is drawn out of the bearing part in a bundle.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 33， further comprising：

a processing unit connected to the second end that is drawn out in the bundle.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to any of claims 24-32， further comprising：

at least one carrier unit constructed to integrate the at least one temperature sensor.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 35， further comprising：

a fixing part provided between the bearing part and the carrier unit to fix relative positions thereof.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to any of claims 24-36， further comprising：

a positioning part provided on the bearing part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 37， wherein the positioning part refers to coordinates and/or indicators distributed on the bearing part.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 38， wherein the coordinates are polar coordinates or rectangular coordinates.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 38， wherein the indicators are marks along radial directions and/or marks along a circumference.
The configurable temperature conduction device according to claim 37， further comprising：

a cup of a bra， wherein the bearing part is provided in the cup.
A temperature sensing device， comprising：

a bearing part；

a conduction channel；

a positioning part provided on an outer surface of the bearing part； and

an array of temperature sensors provided on the bearing part and relocatable based on the positioning part， wherein the array of temperature sensors are coupled to the conduction channel.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 42， wherein the bearing part further comprises a carrier unit constructed to integrate the array of temperature sensors， the carrier unit being provided on the bearing part by a relocatable manner.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 42 or 43， wherein the positioning part refers to coordinates and/or indicators distributed on the bearing part.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 44， wherein the coordinates are polar coordinates or rectangular coordinates.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 44， wherein the indicators are marks along radial directions and/or marks along a circumference.
The temperature sensing device according to any of claims 42-46， further comprising：

a processing unit electrically connected to the array of temperature sensors via the conduction channel.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 47， wherein the conduction channel is at least one pair of wires which are correspondingly connected to at least one of the array of temperature sensors.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 48， wherein the at least one pair of wires are at least partially borne by the bearing part
The temperature sensing device according to claim 47， wherein the processing unit comprises a processor and a wireless communication module， wherein the processor receives a sensing signal via the conduction channel and transmits the sensing signal via the wireless communication module.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 47， wherein the bearing part has a center symmetrical shape and the array of temperature sensors are distributed on the bearing part along radial directions about a symmetrical center or along the radial directions outward.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 47， wherein the array of temperature sensors is an array of thermistors.
The temperature sensing device according to claim 47， further comprising：

a cup of a bra， wherein the bearing part is provided in the cup.