Airflow effect on microwave ablation in lung model

Abstract

Pulmonary microwave ablation has been trailed and became dramatically recognized as an alternative surgical method for lung cancer treatment due to its minimal invasive technique and destroyable only a small part of malignant tissue. Even though, lung is realized as a porous tissue in which filled of humid air and a capillary network that rather difficult to control an ablation region, then a prediction of lung destructive region by using MWA simulation seem to be a reliable investigation and numerical tool for supporting this medical maneuver. In this paper, we propose a simulation of microwave thermal ablation for lung cancer treatment in a simple lung model. Microwave applicator was designed as an opened-tip coaxial antenna of 2.45 GHz at 10 Watts. To study an effect of air flow in pulmonary bronchus, a small tube with air flow was also placed close to the microwave applicator then a temperature distribution and coagulation volume at 60 °c were analyzed. The in silico results show a predictable ablation shape which affected by a convection heat transfer of a humid air. However, before a real ablation with swine tissue, an amount of pulmonary blood flow in small blood vessel should be also included in the next investigation inorder to obtain more reasonable results.