title: Calculated RF electric field and temperature distributions in RF thermal ablation: comparison with gel experiments and liver imaging.
abstract: The present paper is a study of theoretic modeling and experimental tests of that modeling for the local heating due to radiofrequency thermal ablation. A model is developed for the current and the associated electric field produced by a radiofrequency ablation probe. The temperature distributions resulting from the induced ohmic currents in the surrounding material are considered. A comparison is made between the theoretic temperature profiles and the shapes of thermal ablation 'lesions' produced in a controlled gelatin sample experiment. Comparison with the contours of human thermally induced liver lesions found in MRI studies also provides a validation of the success of the modeling. Successful modeling should lead to methods for optimization of the ablation procedure, especially as it is used in interventional MRI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Duerk
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Schuele
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shvartsman
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D013696:Temperature