Microwave Thermal Ablation: Advancements and Future Perspectives

Microwave thermal ablation is gaining interest in recent years thanks to its capa-bilities of treating tumours with minimally invasive procedures, which - in most cases - can be developed under local anaesthesia. In microwave thermal ablation, an antenna is inserted into the tumour and allowed to radiate a high-power electromagnetic field for few minutes (less than 15 min). Despites its increasing use, at present some aspects of the technique are not completely known. These include knowledge of tissue dielectric properties as well as how they change during the procedure, particularly close to the radiating antenna, where the highest temperature values are reached. In this contribution, recent advancements on these two aspects are illustrated, showing new possibilities for the technique.