Objective: Microwave hyperthermia is a clinically proven cancer treatment used in combination with conventional therapies to enhance the overall treatment outcome. It consists in selectively increasing the temperature of tumor cells to 40–44 °C by means of electromagnetic fields that are externally generated and coupled to the patient body via antenna applicators. The primary goal is to shape the power deposition (specific absorption rate, SAR) with focusing on the tumor region, and minimizing the risk of hotspots in the surrounding healthy tissues. Methods: For non-superficial tumors, phased-array antennas are used to focus the energy on the tumor. Finding patient-specific optimal antenna feeding coefficients represents an essential step to ensure an effective and safe administration of the heating. In this article, we present a way to optimize the array power transfer effectiveness (impedance matching) that does not deteriorate the spatial power deposition performance. A global optimization approach is adopted, using a cost function properly tailored to incorporate the active reflection coefficients of the array and the Hotspot-to-Target SAR Quotient (HTQ)—the latter being the standard in hyperthermia applications. Results: The effectiveness of the technique is demonstrated in a scenario relevant to the treatment of tumors in the neck region. The results show that our method significantly improves antenna matching without compromising the HTQ, achieving values within the recommended limits. The performance of the proposed approach is also experimentally tested with full heating in a corresponding phantom. Conclusions: This study introduces an optimization approach that enhances phased-array antenna performance for hyperthermia treatments without affecting spatial power deposition.
目的：微波热疗是一种临床验证的癌症治疗方法，常与传统疗法联合应用以提升整体治疗效果。该方法通过外部产生的电磁场，经由天线施加器耦合至患者体内，选择性地将肿瘤细胞温度升高至40–44°C。其核心目标在于实现能量沉积（比吸收率，SAR）的精准聚焦，使能量集中于肿瘤区域，同时最大限度降低周围健康组织中出现热点的风险。方法：针对非浅表肿瘤，采用相控阵天线将能量聚焦于肿瘤部位。确定针对患者个体的最优天线馈电系数，是确保热疗安全有效实施的关键步骤。本文提出一种优化阵列功率传输效率（阻抗匹配）的方法，该方法不会降低空间能量沉积性能。研究采用全局优化策略，通过构建包含阵列有源反射系数与热点-靶区SAR比值（HTQ）的定制化代价函数实现优化——后者为热疗应用中的标准评估指标。结果：在颈部区域肿瘤治疗的相关场景中验证了该技术的有效性。结果表明，该方法在保持HTQ符合推荐标准的前提下，显著改善了天线匹配性能。此外，通过对应体模的完整加热实验，对提出方法的性能进行了实证检验。结论：本研究提出一种优化策略，可在不影响空间能量沉积性能的前提下，提升热疗相控阵天线的整体性能。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家