TREATMENT PLANNING FOR HYPERTHERMIA WITH ULTRASOUND PHASED-ARRAYS

Treatment planning for ultrasound phased arrays suggests a strategy fo r hyperthermia therapy which satisfies therapeutic conditions at the t arget and spares other sensitive anatomical structures. To predict bot h desirable and harmful interactions between ultrasound and important structures such as the tumor, bones, and air pockets, a hyperthermia t reatment planning system has been developed for ultrasound phased arra ys, This collection of treatment planning routines consists of geometr ic and thermal optimization procedures specific to ultrasound phased a rrays, where geometric treatment planning, combined with thermal treat ment planning and three-dimensional visualization, provides essential information for the optimization of individual patient treatments. A p atient image data set for cancer of the prostate, a difficult target s ituated in the midst of multiple pelvic bone obstructions, illustrates the geometric treatment planning algorithm and other tools for treatm ent analysis, The results indicate that the analysis of complex three- dimensional relationships between the applicator, anatomical structure s, and incident fields provides an important means of predicting treat ment limiting conditions, thereby allowing the hyperthermia applicator to electronically adapt to individual patients and specific sites.