Measurement of the thermal conductivity of polyacrylamide tissue-equivalent material

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to measure the thermal conductivity of polyacrylamide (PAG) and compare it with previously reported values. Polyacrylamide phantoms play an important role in the development of hyperthermia and high-temperature thermal therapies based on electromagnetic (EM) radiation by providing a material that mimics the electrical and thermal properties of human tissue. The thermal properties of PAG have, up until now, not been thoroughly investigated and at least two significantly different values have been published. In this study, the thermal conductivity of polyacrylamide was measured from the steady state temperature drop across samples exposed to a known heat flux. The measured conductivity was 0.56 +/- 0.047 W m(-1) degrees C(-1). To validate the correct set of thermal properties for polyacrylamide, simple heating experiments were performed in a PAG phantom and then simulated using a finite element numerical model that incorporated the measured thermal conductivity along with literature values for specific heat and density. Temperature predictions from the model agreed with average temperatures measured in the phantom to within 1 SD of the measured temperatures.