Optimal Localization of a Novel Shifted 1T-Ring Based Microwave Ablation Probe in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most dangerous, and fatal cancers. Thermal ablation proved its power as the best treatment method for HCC. In microwave thermal ablation, microwave probes are used to generate electromagnetic waves (EMW) at microwave (MW) frequency 2.45 GHz. In this paper, the design/model of a novel microwave ablation probe, namely a single slot with a shifted 1T-ring probe is presented for HCC therapy.

A Finite Element Method (FEM) is employed to model the probe and the hepatic tumor liver tissues. The relation between the tip of probe position and the center of the hepatic tumor was studied to determine the best probe location at which a minimum MW power is required to ablate the entire tumor tissues with the smallest damage in the nearby healthy tissues to the tumor.

The results indicated that the ablated part of the tissues varies depending on the MW probe type, the amount of used power, the location of the probe, and the exposure time. Hepatic tumors' diameters from 2-5cm were studied.

It was shown that the proposed SSS 1T-ring (single slot with shifted 1T-ring) probe provided the best ablation performance when the probe's tip placed below the tumor's center by 11 mm, which achieved 100% damage in the tumor tissues using 6 W power for 10 minutes.

When the probe's tip is located at the center of the tumor, the ablation rate was 73.45% in the tumor tissues under the same conditions.