THERMAL MAPPING FOR TREATMENT PLANNING FOR TUMOR TREATING FIELDS

1 . A computer-implemented method for generating a spatial thermal mapping of a subject, the method comprising:

providing first signals to heat a plurality of heating elements on a garment worn by the subject;

receiving second signals from a plurality of thermal sensing elements on the garment worn by the subject;

ceasing the first signals;

determining thermal-related values based on the second signals, the thermal-related values comprising at least one of:

a temperature for each of the plurality of thermal sensing elements after a cool down time period based on the second signals;

a time needed for each of the plurality of thermal sensing elements to cool down to a desired temperature based on the second signals; or

a rate of temperature change for each of the plurality of thermal sensing elements to cool down based on the second signals; and

generating the spatial thermal mapping of the subject based on at least one of the determined temperatures or the determined times.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the spatial thermal mapping comprises:

ranking the heating elements on the garment based on the determined thermal-related values; and

assigning a value on a normalized scale to each of the heating elements on the garment based on ranking the heating elements.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the spatial thermal mapping comprises at least one of:

identifying heating elements on the garment decreasing to a desired temperature after ceasing the first signals; or

identifying heating elements on the garment not decreasing to a desired temperature after ceasing the first signals.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the spatial thermal mapping comprises at least one of:

identifying heating elements on the garment decreasing to a desired temperature at a rate of temperature change above a first threshold; or

identifying heating elements on the garment decreasing to a desired temperature at a rate of temperature change below a second threshold.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying on a display an indication of a cooling ability of the subject based on the spatial thermal mapping.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signals are ceased after the thermal sensing elements achieve at least a desired temperature.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second signals are received during heating of the plurality of heating elements and during cooling of the plurality of heating elements.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the rate of temperature change for each of the plurality of thermal sensing elements is determined based on a respective temperature and a respective time determined for each of the plurality of thermal sensing elements.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cool down time period is between 1 minute and 10 minutes.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

revising a generic spatial thermal mapping based on the spatial thermal mapping.

11 . A garment for obtaining a spatial thermal mapping of a subject when worn by the subject, the garment comprising:

a plurality of heating elements attached to the garment;

a plurality of thermal sensing elements attached to the garment;

a plurality of first wires to provide current to heat the plurality of heating elements; and

a plurality of second wires to receive signals from the plurality of thermal sensing elements;

wherein each heating element is co-located with a respective thermal sensing element,

wherein each thermal sensing element is located to measure a skin temperature of the subject when the garment is worn by the subject.

12 . The garment of claim 11 , wherein the co-located heating elements and thermal sensing elements are arranged in a grid pattern on the garment.

13 . The garment of claim 11 , wherein the garment is a snug-fitting garment having a size and shape for wearing on at least one of a head, a torso, or a leg of the subject.

14 . The garment of claim 1 , wherein the heating elements are resistors, and wherein the thermal sensing elements are thermistors.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each heating element is located immediately adjacent to or within 0.5 cm of the respective thermal sensing element.

16 . A computer-implemented method for generating at least one transducer layout for delivering tumor treating fields to a subject, the method comprising:

receiving at least one of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) medical images of the subject or computed tomography (CT) medical images of the subject;

receiving a spatial thermal mapping of the subject;

generating a model of the subject based on at least one of the MRI medical images of the subject or the CT medical images of the subject; and

generating a plurality of transducer layouts for application of tumor treating fields to the subject based on the model of the subject and the spatial thermal mapping for the subject.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the spatial thermal mapping for the subject was obtained from thermal measurements of the subject.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the thermal measurements of the subject were obtained from the subject wearing a garment for thermally measuring the subject.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the spatial thermal mapping for the subject was selected from a database of spatial thermal mappings based on at least one of gender, age, height, weight, body mass index, or race of the subject.

20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

presenting on a display a user-rotatable three-dimensional exterior view of the subject, wherein the three-dimensional exterior view of the subject is associated with the model of the subject; and

presenting on the display a representation of the spatial thermal mapping overlaid on the subject user-rotatable three-dimensional exterior view of the subject.