Muscle equivalent phantom at deep and superficial hyperthermia frequencies

Oncological hyperthermia is a medical technique used in synergy with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy to destroy tumoral cells. A single-frequency electromagnetic field is applied on the section of the body where the tumour is present. The absorption of electromagnetic energy brings to the heating of the tissues and clinical results have shown that maintaining the tumour at 40-44 °C for one hour increases sensitivity and effectivity of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Depending on the depth of the tumour, the electromagnetic field is used at different frequencies: deep hyperthermia applications work at frequencies between 70 -150 MHz while for superficial treatments frequencies between 434 – 915 MHz are used. For the realization of hyperthermia treatments that can be safe and effective for the patient, the effects of the technique must be validated on phantoms first. Phantoms are mixtures of materials combined in different proportions in order to mimic the properties of biological tissues. The availability of phantoms which can accurately simulate the human body represents an essential tool for hyperthermia.