Microwave-Assisted Chemical Ablation (MA-CA): A Novel Microwave-Assisted Tissue Ablation Procedure—Preliminary Assessment of Efficiency

Abstract

Microwave (MW) ablation is becoming a routine technology in the interventional radiology field. A new approach combining MW ablation and chemical ablation is developed in this paper. The rationale for the development of this Microwave-Assisted Chemical Ablation (MA-CA) technology was to improve the utility of thermal ablation as a minimally invasive treatment for cancer. The experimental conditions for ex vivo bovine liver samples were: A—100 W (120 s) with no addition of ethanol; B—100 W (30 s), wait (60 s) (no power), and 100 W (90 s) with no addition of ethanol; C—100 W (30 s), wait (60 s), 100 W (30 s), and 100 W (60 s) with the addition of 5 mL ethanol; and D—100 W (30 s), wait (60 s), 100 W (30 s), 0 W (30 s) with the addition of 2.5 mL ethanol, and 100 W (60 s) with the addition of 5 mL ethanol (12,000 Joules Total). The results showed that with the use of ethanol, the ablation zone was enlarged and revealed improved sphericity. This novel combination has greater advantages than either technology individually. The objective is to increase the precision and efficiency of MW ablation and to broaden the range of tissues and pathologies that can be treated using this new approach, and to validate the benefits that arise from combining the advantages of MW and chemical ablation in a relevant setting.