Abstract
The current challenge in the field of thermo-ablative treatments of tumors is to achieve a balance between complete destruction of malignant cells and safeguarding of the surrounding healthy tissue. Blood perfusion plays a key role for thermal ablation success, especially in the case of highly vascularized organs like liver. This work aims at monitoring the temperature within perfused swine liver undergoing laser ablation (LA). Temperature was measured through seven arrays of Fiber Bragg Grating sensors (FBGs) around the laser applicator. To mimic reality, blood perfusion within the ex-vivo liver was simulated using artificial vessels. The influence of blood perfusion on LA was carried out by comparing the temperature profiles in two different spatial configurations of vessels and fibers. The proposed setup permitted to accurately measure the heat propagation in real-time with a temperature resolution of 0.1°C and to observe a relevant tissue cooling near to the vessel up to 65%.
Highlights
T HE goal of any cancer therapy is a complete destruction of malignant cells, including a safety margin ranging from 5 to 10 mm
The success of high-temperature hyperthermia depends on the thermal dose delivered to the cancerous tissue during the treatment, which is related to both exposure time and temperature, since as the tissue temperature increases, the amount of time needed to achieve the desired thermal lesion exponentially decreases [6]–[9]
Temperature distribution generated in the ablated area during thermal coagulation for cancer therapy depends on the energy balance between the power density produced and the dissipated one via energy losses, mainly due to blood perfusion and water evaporation terms [11], [12]
Summary
T HE goal of any cancer therapy is a complete destruction of malignant cells, including a safety margin ranging from 5 to 10 mm. Among the available cancer treatments, thermo-ablative technology offers several advantages over surgical resection: most notably, lower morbidity, increased preservation of surrounding tissues, reduced costs and shorter hospitalization times, as well as the ability to treat patients who are not candidates for conventional therapies [4], [5]. Temperature distribution generated in the ablated area during thermal coagulation for cancer therapy depends on the energy balance between the power density produced (related to the energy deposition by the source and the metabolism) and the dissipated one via energy losses, mainly due to blood perfusion and water evaporation terms [11], [12]. The deposition of energy in cancerous tissues during thermal ablation is influenced by factors like thermoregulation and metabolism, differential thermal sensitivity, properties of the source and blood perfusion. It has been observed that the major energy loss mechanism in thermo-ablative treatments is represented by the blood flow, especially in large vessels [13], [14]
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