Early Detection and Parameter Estimation of Tongue Tumour Using Contact Thermometry in a Closed Mouth

Oral cancer is the world's sixth most prevalent form of cancer and tongue is the most common site in oral cancer. Here, we report the feasibility of contact thermometry for the identification of tongue tumour at its early stage. The thermal and geometrical tumour parameters were predicted by contact temperature measurements of the tongue in a closed mouth. A suitable thermal sensor arrangement had been developed for obtaining the temperature distribution of the tongue. A computational method had been modelled for estimating tumour parameters using limited number of discrete temperature data. Heat transfer in the closed mouth had been modelled using Pennes bio heat transfer equation and the parameter optimization had been carried out using Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) method. The sensor array developed could identify the subtle change in temperature due to tumour in the tongue. The tongue having tumour showed a maximum variation of 0.4 K in the surface temperature. The geometrical and thermal parameters of tumour were simultaneously estimated with 88 % accuracy. Upon adding a random error of ± 1 % to the simulated temperature data, no significant changes were observed in the estimation. The tumour parameter estimation methodology shows that high metabolic heat generation and high blood perfusion source term indicates the presence of tumour. The predicted location and the size of the tumour can be used for pathological investigations. We propose that a wireless wearable system integrated with thermal sensors can be used for monitoring tongue surface temperature and eventually, the early detection of tongue cancer.