Hyperthermia Treatment Planning: Clinical Application and Ongoing Developments

Hyperthermia is a proven clinical anti-cancer treatment, used in combination with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. During hyperthermia, tumour tissue heated to 40-43 °C using radiofrequency or microwave antennas, which strongly enhances effectiveness of and treatment quality depends on temperatures achieved planning (i.e., simulation optimization absorbed power temperature distributions) could be very useful ensure improve quality. was mainly research tool for decades, because high computational costs limited quantitative accuracy predictions due lack patient-specific properties. Thanks developments over the past decade, becomes increasingly important workflow. Presently, main applications hyperthermia are 1) applicator selection, 2) heating ability evaluation 3) on-line guidance. To reliability further increase applicability planning, ongoing focus dielectric imaging derive properties, advanced thermal modelling including discrete vasculature biological predict radiosensitizing effect terms equivalent radiation dose. The increased application efforts will