Maluf N I, McNutt E L, Monroe S, Tanelian D L, Kovacs G T
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, CA 94305-4070.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 1994 Jul;41(7):649-55. doi: 10.1109/10.301731.
The study of thermal transduction in neural tissues has been impeded by the lack of instrumentation able to generate complex, focal temperature variations. Specifically, we are interested in the study of neural thermal transduction within the cornea, with its homogeneous thermal conductivity and avascularity. We present a thermal signal generator probe that is capable of producing arbitrarily shaped bipolar (heating or cooling) thermal swings in a small volume of corneal tissue with which it is in contact. Heating and cooling of the probe tip are achieved by means of a Peltier effect thermoelectric device. The probe temperature, measured directly at the tip, is controlled using closed-loop control circuitry and waveform generation software on a host computer. Response characteristics of thermally sensitive C-fibers were investigated in an in vitro preparation of the rabbit cornea.
由于缺乏能够产生复杂的、局部温度变化的仪器，神经组织中的热传导研究受到了阻碍。具体而言，我们对角膜内神经热传导的研究感兴趣，因为角膜具有均匀的热导率且无血管。我们展示了一种热信号发生器探头，它能够在与之接触的一小部分角膜组织中产生任意形状的双极（加热或冷却）热波动。探头尖端的加热和冷却通过珀尔帖效应热电装置实现。直接在尖端测量的探头温度由主机上的闭环控制电路和波形生成软件控制。在兔角膜的体外制备中研究了热敏C纤维的响应特性。
