Toward a multi-target multi-channel hyperthermia treatment system: Proof of concept with numerical simulations

This paper presents electromagnetic therapy system based on a multi-channel approach for targeting multi-locous tumors, for hyperthermia treatment of the head region. This study aims to treat multi-lesions simultaneously. A numerical head phantom is developed to perform an electromagnetic simulation study to quantity specific absorption rate (SAR) accumulation at regions of interest to prove the efficacy of the proposed system. A custom monopole-based applicator array is designed and fabricated to project energy subcarriers of different frequencies toward the head phantom. A modified phase-array tool is invoked as waveform-shaping module to deposit energies coherently at tumor locations. The acquired SAR profiles are utilized to realize the thermal response of the case under study. The accomplished results prove the therapeutic capability of the proposed system by treating tumors of various sizes at different locations simultaneously, thereby adding a degree of freedom to improve the efficacy of hyperthermia treatment.