A Simulation-Experiment Method to Characterize the Heat Transfer in Ex-Vivo Porcine Hepatic Tissue with a Realistic Microwave Ablation System

Abstract

A simulation-experiment method is proposed to characterize the performance of a realistic microwave ablation (MWA) device. Ex-vivo porcine livers are used in the study. The catheter is modeled without understanding its electrical structure or the actual ablation power; so, it is adaptable to other ablators. The optimized 3-D finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation can efficiently reflect the lesion profile in heterogeneous tissues and is clinically beneficial. This method can serve as a guideline to evaluate the device performance and the treatment plan. The influence of the temperature dispersive dielectric and the thermal properties has also been discussed.

Keywords:

• Finite difference time domain method
• Lesion profile
• Microwave ablation

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation Project (61001159), the National Key Basic Research Project (2011CB503705), and the National Natural Science Foundation of Special Equipment Project (81127006).