Thermal Field Distributions of Ablative Experiments Using Cyst-mimicking Phantoms: Comparison of Microwave and Radiofrequency Ablation.

Rationale And Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the thermal field distribution of cystic lesions undergoing microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using in vitro phantoms.

Materials And Methods: Cyst-mimicking lesions filled with sodium chloride (NaCl) solution in acrylamide phantoms were treated with MWA and RFA in vitro. The radiofrequency electrodes or MWA antennas were implanted in the centers of the artificial cystic lesions. We used temperature fields located 5, 15, and 25 mm from the electrode or the antenna to plot the temperature-rise curves. Solid phantoms without cysts were also fabricated as controls.

Results: The temperature within cysts increased faster and reached a higher maximum temperature during MWA than during RFA, and this result was independent of the NaCl solution concentration. RFA treatment caused the temperatures within the lesion to increase significantly faster in the cysts containing 0.9% NaCl than in those containing 5.0% NaCl. However, the MWA temperature-rise curves were only weakly affected by the ionic concentration. The median temperature difference values between the 5- and 15-mm points were markedly lower in the 0.9% NaCl cyst-mimicking phantom (P <0.001) than in the solid phantom after either MWA or RFA.

Conclusions: Our data indicate that MWA is a more effective technique for focal cystic lesions than RFA and has higher overall energy utilization. MWA was also less affected by the ionic concentration of the cystic fluid.