3D cartesian system for the characterization of electromagnetic and ultrasonic applicators: Validation and performance testing

It should be considered that in ultrasound or microwave ablation tests, it is important to know the effective area of the applicators. Also, each applicator should be characterized with adequate precision to meet the needs of the application. In order to achieve the mentioned-above objectives, we must have control of the position in space with respect to tested tissue or phantom. This paper presents the development of a three-dimensional cartesian position system being useful for working spaces of the following dimensions: 60 cm × 40 cm × 25 cm. The purpose of the proposed system is to perform temperature measurements in phantoms and tissue, and evaluate the performance of applicators of U.S. (Ultrasound) applicators as well as electromagnetic energy (EM) and radio frequency (RF). The movement of each axis of the positioner is controlled by a stepping motor running sequences based on the displacement that the user enters through a computer which are interpreted and executed by a microcontroller to finally display the results on the screen through a graphical interface.