Development of a system for MRI-guided thermal therapy of prostate disease with transurethral ultrasound heating applicators

摘要

A system for performing MRI-guided transurethral prostate thermal therapy has been developed. Ultrasound energy is delivered from a multi-element heating applicator incorporating single or dual-frequency planar transducers. The heating applicators produce a directional heating pattern, and have the capability to generate an arbitrary three-dimensional thermal damage pattern in tissue. The delivery system includes five independent channels, each capable of producing up to 50W of RF power. An MRI-compatible motor has also been developed to control the rotation of the heating applicator inside the bore of a clinical 1.5T MR scanner. The capability to perform quantitative thermometry during heating with these heating applicators has been evaluated in a thermal gel material (TGM) developed in our lab with tissue-mimicking ultrasound and thermal properties.