Multi-frequency analysis for interstitial microwave hyperthermia using multi-slot coaxial antenna

Abstract

The presented paper shows a new concept of multi-slot coaxial antenna working at different frequencies to predict the best solution for interstitial microwave hyperthermia treatment. The described method concerns a microwave heating of unhealthy cells using a thin microwave antenna located in the human tissue. Therefore, the coupled wave equation in a sinusoidal steady-state and the transient bioheat equation under an axial symmetrical model are considered. The 4-Cole-Cole approximation has been used to compute the complex relative permittivity of the human tissues at different antenna operating frequencies. At the stage of numerical simulation the finite element method (FEM) is used. Special attention has been paid to estimate the optimal antenna parameters for thermal therapy for three microwave frequencies mainly used in medical practice and make comparison of the obtained results in the case of single-, double- and triple-slot antennas.