Heating Properties of Developed Needle Type Applicator Made of Shape Memory Alloy

This paper discusses radio frequency (RF) interstitial hyperthermia for a brain tumor with a needle type applicator made of a shape memory alloy (SMA). In this method, it is necessary to make appropriate thermal distribution to the region of the brain tumor. However, it is not easy to predict the thermal distribution during the heating. We estimated the temperature distribution inside an agar phantom by the finite element method (FEM), and heated the agar phantom with the developed needle type applicator. Here, first, the developed RF interstitial hyperthermia system with the SMA needle was presented. Second, the results obtained by the computer simulation and the experimental heating results of the agar phantom by using the developed SMA needle type applicator were presented. Comparing computer simulation results and experimental results, we discussed the heating properties of the developed system. Finally, from these results, it is confirmed that the developed needle type applicator made of SMA is useful for wide heating of invasive hyperthermia.