On the design of a microwave imaging system to monitor thermal ablation of liver tumors

Thermal ablation treatment of cancer is increasingly adopted in the clinical practice, being minimally invasive and highly specific. However, a significant drawback of the technique is the lack of effective imaging modalities for monitoring the changes undergoing in the thermally treated tissue. In this respect, microwave imaging has been proposed as a possible candidate, owing to its portability, low-cost, non-ionizing nature, and capability to detect changes in dielectric properties of tissues induced by the temperature. The goal of this paper is to provide the guidelines for the design of a microwave imaging system for thermal ablation monitoring of liver tumors. To this end, an analytical study is performed to determine the proper working conditions, in terms of frequency band and matching medium. Then, three antipodal Vivaldi antennas on different dielectric substrates are designed and numerically assessed. Among those antennas, the Vivaldi antenna on RT/duroid 6010LM substrate proved to be the most suitable choice. The results of this study pave the way to an experimental assessment of microwave imaging as a modality to monitor thermal ablation treatments.