Thermal Ablation Therapy

Thermal Ablation Therapy: Theory and Simulation includes detailed theoretical and technical concepts of thermal ablation therapy in the different body organs. The concepts of ablation technology based on the different thermal ablation methods are introduced in the book. Since the radiation pattern and the effect of the heat/cooling depends on the characteristics of the tissues and the size of the tumor, the book studies these factors using different energy sources. The changes in the tissues’ mechanical properties due to the thermal denaturation are also discussed. The book emphasizes the mathematical and engineering concepts of the RF and MW energy propagation through the tissues and the heating effect, where the high heating rate produced by the MW systems can overcome the heat-sink effects from nearby vessels, creating more uniform ablation zones. The design and tuning of the MW antennas to deliver energy efficiently to specific organ systems, such as the liver or lung is also studied in this book. The computational modeling of the radiofrequency ablation and the microwave ablation procedures for developing and implementing new efficient ablation in clinical systems is one of the main contents of this book. Numerical simulations for different scenarios of different organs with different size using RF and MW ablation systems with different antennas’/probes design and configurations are extensively included in this book. Numerical techniques for the temperature profile in tissue include the finite integration technique (FIT), finite element method (FEM), finite–difference time-domain (FDTD) and method of moments (MoM). These methods are widely used to discretize the partial differential equations (PDEs) in space and time. Such simulation will be performed in this book by using Matlab software by building finite element models or Comsol software, which is mainly concerned with building physical models to examine the thermal effect of the different antennas design on the tumor tissues and their neighbor normal tissues. COMSOL Multiphysics software is fortified with FEM to provide the required tools to build simulation applications relating to biological materials, physics components selection (electromagnetic and heat transfer), antenna geometry, and meshing. This is efficient to predict the electromagnetic waves propagation from the antennas of arbitrary geometry and to evaluate the antenna performance metrics. Thermal Ablation Therapy: Theory and Simulation also covers energy deposition from the applied electromagnetic fields, and heat generation as well as the subsequent water and vapor mass transfer in the tissues to determine the thermal dose or surviving fraction of the cells. The ablation process stating from locating the tumors using ultrasound, CT, or MR imaging devices till determining the required heating dose and the effect on the tissues with the proper antenna selection is discussed in the book. Then, essentially the patient is turned into an electrical circuit by placing grounding pads on the thighs. The different temperature-dependent and temperature-independent models are also introduced in the book, where the mathematical functions used to model the temperature-dependence of the electrical and thermal conductivities of biological tissue in the ablation systems are presented. A bio-heat model to evaluate the use of high-temperature thermal ablation therapies of diseased tissues is included. A comparison between the different ablation techniques is conducted in the book. This volume also discusses several applications in different real-life thermal ablation therapies. This cutting-edge book highlights the simulation and challenges to design the antenna of the RF and MW ablation probes. Thermal Ablation Therapy: Theory and Simulation includes: highlights on the medical concepts of ablation, tissues types and characteristics, effect of heating and cooling on different tissues and organs, the concept/ advantages/disadvantages of radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, antenna design requirements, simulation scenarios of the different cases (different probes and tissues), and finally, the challenges and new perspectives in thermal ablation therapy. Presents the latest mathematical models of the microwave and RF ablation theoriesDiscusses the biological responses and engineering principles by which thermal ablation techniques can provide temperature-elevation within the organs of the human body, including action mechanisms, required equipment, needle characteristics, and treatment techniquesHighlights the different techniques of thermal ablation, including radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, laser ablation, and ultrasound ablation, nanotechnology, and the different metrics used to evaluate the performance of the used antenna within the ablation needleProvides different simulation scenarios of different tumor sizes in different organs and the effect of temperature on these tumorsIncludes the limitations, challenges and future perspectives for the design of new antenna probes for thermal ablation techniquesProvides demos and sample code using Matlab and Comsol software