Microwave beamforming for non-invasive patient-specific hyperthermia treatment of pediatric brain cancer. Phys Med Biol 2011 May 07;56(9):2743-54
Date
04/06/2011Pubmed ID
21464536DOI
10.1088/0031-9155/56/9/007Scopus ID
2-s2.0-79954612132 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 45 CitationsAbstract
We present a numerical study of an array-based microwave beamforming approach for non-invasive hyperthermia treatment of pediatric brain tumors. The transmit beamformer is designed to achieve localized heating-that is, to achieve constructive interference and selective absorption of the transmitted electromagnetic waves at the desired focus location in the brain while achieving destructive interference elsewhere. The design process takes into account patient-specific and target-specific propagation characteristics at 1 GHz. We evaluate the effectiveness of the beamforming approach using finite-difference time-domain simulations of two MRI-derived child head models from the Virtual Family (IT'IS Foundation). Microwave power deposition and the resulting steady-state thermal distribution are calculated for each of several randomly chosen focus locations. We also explore the robustness of the design to mismatch between the assumed and actual dielectric properties of the patient. Lastly, we demonstrate the ability of the beamformer to suppress hot spots caused by pockets of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. Our results show that microwave beamforming has the potential to create localized heating zones in the head models for focus locations that are not surrounded by large amounts of CSF. These promising results suggest that the technique warrants further investigation and development.
Author List
Burfeindt MJ, Zastrow E, Hagness SC, Van Veen BD, Medow JEAuthor
Joshua E. Medow MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
BrainBrain Neoplasms
Child
Feasibility Studies
Female
Humans
Hyperthermia, Induced
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Microwaves
Phantoms, Imaging
Precision Medicine
