Gel Phantom Models for Radiofrequency and Microwave Ablation of the Liver

Abstract

Heat-based percutaneous thermal ablation techniques have emerged as popular and effective treatments for liver cancer. As the technology continues to evolve, there is a need for optimized methods for experimentation to identify advantageous modifications and developments. Given that assessing and comparing resulting ablation zones in animal models are costly and resource-intensive, in vitro gel phantom models can serve an important role for early-stage experimentation. There exist several gel phantom recipes that have been reported in the literature. In this review, we will review the various recipes, the pros and cons to the existing models, and future potential directions.

Keywords

gel phantom - radiofrequency ablation - microwave ablation

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 15. Juli 2020

Angenommen: 23. Juli 2020

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
28. September 2020

• References

• 1 Krokidis MHA. Ablative techniques for image-guided thermal ablation. Digestive Disease Interventions. 2019; 3 (02) 93-97
• 2 Raman SS, Lu DS, Vodopich DJ, Sayre J, Lassman C. Creation of radiofrequency lesions in a porcine model: correlation with sonography, CT, and histopathology. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2000; 175 (05) 1253-1258
• 3 Leyendecker JR, Dodd III GD, Halff GA. et al. Sonographically observed echogenic response during intraoperative radiofrequency ablation of cirrhotic livers: pathologic correlation. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2002; 178 (05) 1147-1151
• 4 Liu D, Brace CL. Evaluation of tissue deformation during radiofrequency and microwave ablation procedures: influence of output energy delivery. Med Phys 2019; 46 (09) 4127-4134
• 5 Puza CJ, Wang Q, Kim CY. Evaluation of the heat sink effect after transarterial embolization when performed in combination with thermal ablation of the liver in a Rabbit Model. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 2018; 41 (11) 1773-1778
• 6 Burdío F, Navarro A, Sousa R. et al. Evolving technology in bipolar perfused radiofrequency ablation: assessment of efficacy, predictability and safety in a pig liver model. Eur Radiol 2006; 16 (08) 1826-1834
• 7 de Baere T, Denys A, Wood BJ. et al. Radiofrequency liver ablation: experimental comparative study of water-cooled versus expandable systems. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2001; 176 (01) 187-192
• 8 Dabbagh A, Abdullah BJ, Ramasindarum C, Abu Kasim NH. Tissue-mimicking gel phantoms for thermal therapy studies. Ultrason Imaging 2014; 36 (04) 291-316
• 9 Boll DT, Lewin JS, Duerk JL, Merkle EM. Do surgical clips interfere with radiofrequency thermal ablation?. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2003; 180 (06) 1557-1560
• 10 Goldberg SN, Ahmed M, Gazelle GS. et al. Radio-frequency thermal ablation with NaCl solution injection: effect of electrical conductivity on tissue heating and coagulation-phantom and porcine liver study. Radiology 2001; 219 (01) 157-165
• 11 Solazzo SA, Liu Z, Lobo SM. et al. Radiofrequency ablation: importance of background tissue electrical conductivity—an agar phantom and computer modeling study. Radiology 2005; 236 (02) 495-502
• 12 Liu Z, Ahmed M, Weinstein Y, Yi M, Mahajan RL, Goldberg SN. Characterization of the RF ablation-induced ‘oven effect’: the importance of background tissue thermal conductivity on tissue heating. Int J Hyperthermia 2006; 22 (04) 327-342
• 13 Haemmerich D, Schutt DJ. RF ablation at low frequencies for targeted tumor heating: in vitro and computational modeling results. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2011; 58 (02) 404-410
• 14 Bu-Lin Z, Bing H, Sheng-Li K, Huang Y, Rong W, Jia L. A polyacrylamide gel phantom for radiofrequency ablation. Int J Hyperthermia 2008; 24 (07) 568-576
• 15 Divkovic GW, Liebler M, Braun K, Dreyer T, Huber PE, Jenne JW. Thermal properties and changes of acoustic parameters in an egg white phantom during heating and coagulation by high intensity focused ultrasound. Ultrasound Med Biol 2007; 33 (06) 981-986
• 16 Mikhail AS, Negussie AH, Graham C, Mathew M, Wood BJ, Partanen A. Evaluation of a tissue-mimicking thermochromic phantom for radiofrequency ablation. Med Phys 2016; 43 (07) 4304