Microwave ablation monitoring via microwave tomography: A numerical feasibility assessment

Microwave ablation is a cancer treatment based on the induction of coagulative necrosis of tumor cells by local heating. Recently, such a technique has progressed significantly in the clinical practice. However, its effectiveness would improve dramatically if paired with a system for the real-time monitoring of the evolving dimension and shape of the thermally ablated area. This paper explores the possibility of using microwave imaging as a convenient, non-invasive methodology to track the variation of the electromagnetic properties of ablated tissues and the surrounding region, so to monitor the overall treatment evolution in a non-invasive way.