A MULTIELEMENT FLEXIBLE MICROSTRIP PATCH APPLICATOR FOR MICROWAVE HYPERTHERMIA

A light, thin and flexible applicator using a microstrip patch array F or microwave heating is presented and tested in this work. The applica tor is made of a Rat silicone rubber bag, inside of which Rows cooling water. EM coupling feeding is applied, which has no direct contact be tween the feed and the patch, to improve durability and reliability wh en it is repeatedly applied to the uneven surface of the heated portio n of the human body. Simulations of SAR distribution are performed usi ng the finite difference time domain (FD-TD) method. Simulated data ar e compared with the experimental ones using cubic and cylindrical phan tom models with single and multielement patch-applicators. Simulations of temperature distribution are also performed using the heat transfe r equation. Simulated data are compared with the experimental ones usi ng cubic and cylindrical phantom models. The simulated results agree w ell with the experimental ones. The results obtained here show that th e multielement flexible microstrip patch applicator which operates at 430 MHz can heat a relatively shallow and widespread area on the human body for hyperthermia treatments.