Computer modelling and simulation of radiofrequency thermal ablation

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to enable the correct selection of the radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFTA) process parameters for an individual patient by applying a computer modelling of RFTA. Design/methodology/approach - The model is based on the X-ray computer tomography images of the primary and metastatic hepatic tumours. The authors used the professional package of FLUX3D to generate the geometric models, assign materials properties, assign boundary conditions, perform mesh, carry out coupled thermo-electromagnetic analysis and for post processing. The distribution of temperature and electric potential in the tissues of tumour and liver had been obtained as main results of the calculations. Findings - The computational results show that the RFTA algorithm is effective in solving this practical problem. The computational results show that the selection of the type of electrodes used in the RFTA process is as important as the correct selection of the process parameters, i.e. voltage and frequency. Originality/value - The paper presents a method to simulate the RFTA process and to select the process parameters.