Temperature profile of ex-vivo organs during radio frequency thermal ablation by fiber Bragg gratings.

Giovanna Palumbo,Stefania Campopiano,Daniele Tosi,Vincenzo Tammaro,Agostino Iadicicco,Juliet Ippolito,Paolo Verze,Nicola Carlomagno

doi:10.1117/1.jbo.21.11.117003

Abstract

We report on the integration of fiber optic sensors with commercial medical instrumentation for temperature monitoring during radio frequency ablation for tumor treatment. A suitable configuration with five fiber Bragg grating sensors bonded to a bipolar radio frequency (RF) probe has been developed to monitor the area under treatment. A series of experiments were conducted on <italic<ex-vivo</italic< animal kidney and liver and the results confirm that we were able to make a multipoint measurement and to develop a real-time temperature profile of the area, with a temperature resolution of 0.1°C and a spatial resolution of 5 mm during a series of different and consecutive RF discharges.

Highlights

Since its acceptance into clinical practice in 1990s, thermal ablation has been widely used as a viable minimally invasive treatment for kidney[1] and liver[2] tumor therapy and is fast becoming the preferred therapy over the standard invasive procedure
Our research team focused on the analysis of the temperature recorded by fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) sensors during radio frequency ablation (RFA) treatment, which consisted of consecutive insertions of the sensorized radio frequency (RF) probe, each emitting a series of RF discharges
It is worth noting that we conducted several experiments similar to this one, and due to the inhomogeneity of the organ tissue, which is dependent on the electrical properties and their evolution throughout RFA, large variations in the self-same tissue under thermal ablation treatment have been noted.[40]

Summary

Introduction

Since its acceptance into clinical practice in 1990s, thermal ablation has been widely used as a viable minimally invasive treatment for kidney[1] and liver[2] tumor therapy and is fast becoming the preferred therapy over the standard invasive procedure. Among other thermal ablation treatments, radio frequency ablation (RFA) is considered to be the most effective percutaneous techniques for patients with primary or metastatic liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma)[3] and primary renal cancer, as specified in hepatology[4] and urological[5] guidelines. As primary liver tumors are often soft and encapsulated, RFA allows for effective heat disbursement and retention while in kidney cancer, minimally invasive RFA therapy has been found to postpone kidney failure and prolong kidney function in patients with multiple or hereditary renal cell carcinoma.[3] Today, RFA is considered a useful option for patients who are deemed to be nonoperative candidates or who may have a solitary kidney, multiple medical problems, or unresectable tumors. Its “heat sink effect” results in little collateral damage during treatments situated near vital structures and serves to preserve the vessels near the tumor treatment area

Methods

Results

Conclusion