Sensitivity analysis of critical parameters affecting the efficacy of microwave ablation using taguchi method

Abstract

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive thermal treatment modality that has already evolved as a promising alternative to radiofrequency ablation for treating different types of malignant and benign tumors, especially ≥3 cm in diameter. The efficacy of thermal ablative therapies is mainly judged by the ablation volume attained post-ablation. In this regards, the present study aims at analyzing the influence of six critical parameters, as follows, relative permittivity, electrical conductivity, volumetric heat capacity, thermal conductivity, blood perfusion rate, and applied power on the ablation volume attained during MWA. Taguchi's L27 orthogonal array has been adopted for the current problem with six input variables having three levels each. The electric and thermophysical properties considered in the study have been derived from liver, lung, breast, and kidney. Finite element method (FEM) based numerical simulations of MWA have been conducted on three-dimensional homogeneous model of biological tissue using coaxial single slot microwave antenna. Further, the ranking and the contribution of each parameter on the ablation volume attained during MWA have been quantified using analysis of variance. The corollaries drawn from the study would be useful to the clinical practitioners during the treatment planning stage of the MWA.