Improving patient safety in microwave ablation treatments

Summary form only given. In medical microwave systems the measurement of forward and reflected power is often used as a safety mechanism to monitor treatments, detect and react to device failures, connection issues and potential misuse. Any inaccuracy in these measurements has the potential to result in either insufficient power being delivered - resulting in poor treatments and a perception of unreliability, or excessive power being administered - potentially causing serious patient injury. The challenge facing product designers in the growing field of microwave ablation is how to accommodate the measurement of varying impedance and phase where using standard components that are generally calibrated for typical industrial applications, where the impedance match is fixed. This presentation will discuss the growing requirement for safe, medical-grade microwave equipment to meet the needs of a challenging, ever-evolving regulatory landscape.