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Currently a comprehensive Hyperthermia Treatment Planning (HTP) tool is being developed. It is based on the existing electro-magnetism (EM) simulation platform SEMCAD X. Hyperthermia is a treatment modality for cancer that can strongly increase survival rates. It consists of heating the tumor to a temperature that should ideally lie above 43 °C. This goal is usually achieved by exposing the patient to EM radiation. Often, an antenna-array is used to achieve the desired deposition pattern.
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| EM Simulation of SAR (specific absorption rate) distribution induced by a Sigma-60 hyperthermia applicator. |
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The corresponding temperature distribution as obtained based on the Pennes Bioheat Equation. |
In order to increase the treatment quality and efficiency, a patient based planning tool is required. This software will perform the following main tasks:
- Transform medical imaging data into a model of the patient on which simulations can be carried out.
- Simulate the EM field distributions generated by the different antennas.
- Predict the resulting temperature increase in the patient, taking into account blood flow and specific heat generation rates of the various tissues.
- Optimize the amplitudes and relative phases of the various antennas to obtain the "best" configuration.
Results obtained using some segmentation methods offered by the segmentation tool box. |
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A flexible image segmentation toolbox has been created that permits fast, robust image segmentation. It is complemented by a front-end that supports a large range of possible user interactions and has been designed to blend a large amount of information into intuitive views.
A new model for the influence of blood vessels on the heat distribution is being developed. It is based on tensorial heat conduction and connecting the simulation to a pseudo 1D-simulation of heat transport in the vessel network. Furthermore, a code is being written that permits temperature dependent tissue parameters.
Detailed applicator models have been constructed which has then been used to carry out initial calculations using the SEMCAD X software. Some requirements for the EM and temperature simulation have been specified, and problematic areas could be identified. The influence of some parameters (e.g., temperature of surrounding water bolus) has been studied. |
The software will eventually be helpful in developing new applicators as well.
The goal is a comprehensive software package that covers all steps from developing applicators to simulating the EM fields they induce, obtaining the resulting temperature distributions, and calculating the optimal steering parameters to get the best possible treatment.
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