A dipole-type intracavitary hyperthermic applicator with a metallic reflector: experiments and theoretical analysis

Abstract

A water-cooled electromagnetic (EM) dipole, for intracavitary hyperthermia, embodying a metallic reflector to give directional characteristics to the SAR and then to the heating pattern in the biological tissue, is considered. The influence of the reflector on the SAR deposition has been theoretically modelled with an EM analysis which uses the method of moments (MOM). A thermal model, based on the heat transfer equation, is used to predict temperature distribution, which exhibits a directivity related to the angular extension of the reflector. Experiments have been carried out in a polyacrylamide phantom. The temperature distribution detected with a liquid crystal sheet shows fairly good agreement with theoretical predictions.