In vitro measurements of temperature-dependent specific heat of liver tissue

Abstract 

We measured the specific heat of liver tissue in vitro by uniformly heating liver samples between two electrodes. We insulated the samples by expanded polystyrene, and corrected for heat loss and water loss. The specific heat of the liver is temperature-dependent, and increases by 17% at 83.5°C (p<0.05), compared to temperatures below 65°C. The average specific heat was 3411Jkg⁻¹K⁻¹ at 25°C, and 4187Jkg⁻¹K⁻¹ at 83.5°C. Water loss from the samples was significant above 70°C, with ∼20% of reduction in sample mass at 90°C.

Keywords: Specific heat temperature dependence, Thermal tissue properties, Tumor ablation, Specific heat, Liver tissue