Theoretical and experimental analysis of air cooling for intracavitary microwave hyperthermia applicators

An intracavitary microwave antenna array system has been developed and tested for the hyperthermia treatment of prostate cancer at Thayer School of Engineering and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. The antenna array consists of a choked dipole antenna inserted into the urethra and a choked dipole antenna eccentrically embedded in a Teflon obturator inserted into the rectum. To prevent unnecessary heating of the healthy tissue that surrounds each applicator, an air cooling system has been incorporated into the rectal applicator. The air cooling system was designed and modeled theoretically using a numerical solution of heat and momentum equations within the applicator, and an analytical solution of the Pennes bioheat equation in tissue surrounding the applicator. The 3-D temperature distribution produced by the air-cooled rectal applicator was measured in a perfused canine prostate.