Engineering aspects of hyperthermia therapy.
The continuing accrual of positive results in clinical cancer trials of adjunctive, synergistic hyperthermia therapy remains a strong motivation for the development of improved hyperthermia equipment and software. Indeed, the lack of needed engineering tools can be viewed as the major stumbling block to hyperthermia's effective clinical implementation. Developing clinically effective systems will be difficult, however, because (a) it requires solving several complex engineering problems, for which (b) setting appropriate design and evaluation goals is currently difficult owing to a lack of critical biological, physiological, and clinical knowledge, two tasks which must (c) be accomplished within a complicated social/political structure.
Roemer
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RB
Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Radiation Oncology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9208, USA. roemer@arachne.eng.utah.edu
D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D013696:Temperature