Finite Element Analysis of Microwave Tumor Ablation Based on Open-Source Software Components

Abstract

Microwave ablation is a procedure for treating various types of cancers during which a small needle-like probe is inserted inside the tumor, which delivers microwave energy, causes tissue heating, and effectively produces necrosis of the tumor tissue. Mathematical models of microwave ablation involve the modeling of multiple physical phenomena that occur during the procedure, including electromagnetic wave propagation, heat transfer, and tissue damage. In this study, a complete model of a microwave ablation procedure based on open-source software components is presented. First, the comprehensive procedure of mesh creation for the complete geometric arrangement of the microwave ablation, including a multi-slot coaxial antenna, a real liver tumor taken from the database, and the surrounding liver tissue, is described. It is demonstrated that utilizing smart meshing procedures significantly reduces the usage of computational resources and simulation time. An accurate custom explicit Euler time loop was designed to obtain temperature values and estimate tissue necrosis across the computational domain during the time of microwave ablation. The simulation results obtained by solving the electromagnetic field using the finite element method in the frequency domain are presented and analyzed. The simulation was performed for a microwave frequency of 2.45 GHz, and the volumetric distribution of temperature and estimation of cell damage over 600 s are presented.