Temperature distribution during RF ablation on ex vivo liver tissue: IR measurements and simulations

Radiofrequency thermal ablation is the first therapeutic option for the minimally invasive treatment of liver tumors. This medical procedure employs the Joule heat produced by a RF electromagnetic field to kill tumor cells. The outcome of the procedure is strongly affected by the temperature distribution near the RF applicator, however the measurement of this distribution, even in ex vivo experiments, is not straightforward since most traditional local temperature measurement techniques are not well-suited, due to both electromagnetic interferences and the sensor heat sink effect. Given the importance of the temperature field knowledge, in this paper special care was devoted to its measurement employing both infrared thermal imaging and NTC thermistors. Several RF ablation tests on ex vivo porcine liver tissue were carried out measuring the space–time evolution of temperature during the procedure (with spatial resolution ≤1 mm) and producing useful data for the design and the calibration of a numerical model. Electro-thermal numerical simulations of the experimental tests were performed using a mathematical model suitable for the heating phase of the procedure (up to 95 °C). The simulations results allowed to check the physical consistency of the measured data and suggested that a constant thermal conductivity is satisfactory for modeling the temperature evolution during RF ablation.