A wearable applicator for microwave hyperthermia of breast cancer: Performance evaluation with patient-specific anatomic models

A wearable microwave hyperthermia system for treatment of breast cancer is proposed to overcome the limitations of currently available clinical applicators. The applicator incorporates an array of rectangular patch elements and a shared hemispheric conformal groundplane. The energy deposition capabilities of the proposed system are evaluated with patient-specific anatomical models generated from MRI scans. Specific absorption rate (SAR) and averaged power absorption (PA) in specific target volumes normalized to the total averaged power absorption (aPA) are evaluated as a function of number of elements in the array. Simulated results indicated the feasibility of focused energy deposition in the breast center when employing multiple antenna elements. An array with eight elements was identified as the optimal configuration which generates the greatest aPA. These outcomes would facilitate energy focusing in the hyperthermia treatment of various target sizes and varying locations.