Intervention Planning of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Radio-Frequency Ablations

We present a software solution for planning and simulating radio-frequency ablation (RFA) treatment for patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma. Our software provides the graphical front-end for the results of the EU FP7 project IMPPACT. The main planning application was designed to assist with the identification of minimum-risk setups for RFA probes and generation of evaluable 3D representations of the predicted necrosis zones. Patient-specific mesh data describing the involved anatomic structures are used to individually parameterize the simulation procedure for personalized results. Our software supplies tools for extracting the required anatomic meshes from computed tomography (CT) images and for specifying custom intervention protocols. Data collected during simulations allow for detailed illustration of expected effectiveness and progress of heat-induced necrosis over time. Our software was evaluated positively by medical personnel and has been successfully put into practice at two independent European clinical sites.