Numerical Simulation on Microwave Ablation with a Water-Cooled Antenna

The temperature field of thermal ablation induced by a water-cooled microwave antenna was numerically studied. The specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution was experimentally determined in the phantom and analytically fitted, which was used as a heat generation rate in the following numerical simulation. An axis-symmetric finite element model was developed to simulate the temperature field, in which the convection heat transfer of the cooling water was involved. Thus, the characteristics of the interested microwave antenna were well understood to instruct the clinical operation and surgical planning of microwave ablation in practice.