Design of a microwave array hyperthermia applicator with a semicircular reflector

The design of a hyperthermia applicator for heating biological tissues is presented in which the applicator consists of an array antenna surrounded by a perfect electrically conducting reflector. The heat hazard to superficial tissues is reduced by the introduction of a dielectric protecting layer over them. A method of moments formulation is applied to approximate the electric field within the biological medium and a closed form expression is presented for the electromagnetic coupling problem, which enables an optimisation procedure to be performed. The applicator enhances both penetration and focusing: deep tumours, close to the bone region, are heated and the percentage of biologically healthy tissue exposed to a specific absorption rate (SAR) hazard level diminishes by 53.8%.