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A multi-channel system for microwave heating of tissues

M.R.C. Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS

This excerpt was created in the absence of an abstract.

Although recent research and experience have shown that hyperthermia administered alone, or in combination with ionizing radiations or drugs, may be useful in the treatment of cancer, there are many questions to be answered if such therapy is to be optimized. Many studies with experimental animals have been made using water-bath heating because of its simplicity. However, recent reports (Hume et al., 1979a; Robinson et al., 1978) indicate that temperature distributions in tissues heated in this way may be markedly affected by blood flow. Heating methods in which energy may be deposited at depth in tissues may produce more uniform temperature distributions than can be obtained by immersing tissues in hot water. Since the effects of hyperthermia are very strongly dependent on temperature, the development of methods to heat tissues uniformly is an important requirement both experimentally and clinically. Expertise acquired during the development of microwave heating techniques should prove particularly valuable since this means of inducing hyperthermia has been chosen in a number of clinical trials currently underway.

In the present report a microwave heating system which allows four volumes of tissue to be treated simultaneously is described. It is particularly useful in experiments involving rodents. The temperature in each field may be monitored and individually controlled.

Received for publication April 1, 1979.