Received: 18 June 2020

DOI: 10.1049/mia2.12122
- -Revised: 28 January 2021

O R I G I N A L R E S E A R C H PA P E R
Accepted: 2 March 2021

- IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation

Microwave intracavitary applicator using 434 MHz conformal

patch antennas for hyperthermia treatment of gynaecological
cancers

Tharrini Rajendran | Kavitha Arunachalam

Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute Abstract

of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
Correspondence
Kavitha Arunachalam, Department of Engineering
Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai, India.
Email: akavitha@iitm.ac.in
Funding information
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Grant/
Award Number: EDDRMFXKAVT; Science and
Engineering Research Board, Grant/Award
Number: SB/FTP/ETA‐461/2012
Feasibility of a 434 MHz microwave intracavitary applicator with conformal patch an-
tennas is presented for hyperthermia treatment of gynaecological cancers. 3D numerical
modelling was used to design a 434 MHz resonant conformal rectangular patch on a
cylindrical alumina substrate. A conformal array applicator designed using four conformal
patch antennas was evaluated in muscle tissue phantom. Applicator measurements
indicated that the conformal patch resonated at 434 MHz with power reflection coeffi-
cient ρ < −35 dB, penetration depth of 12 mm at 434 MHz and −10 dB bandwidth
>40 MHz. Normalised power deposition in the applicator transverse (X Y) plane yielded
25% Effective Field Size (EFS) of 180 and 175 mm2 in simulation and measurement,
respectively, for excitation of single conformal patch. The 25% EFS for excitation of two
antennas was 500 and 510 mm2 in simulation and measurement, respectively. Simulations
and measurements suggest that the 434 MHz intracavitary microwave applicator with
conformal patch antennas could be used to deliver adjustable and localised power
deposition at the target sparing the surrounding healthy tissues.

1 | INTRODUCTION tissue to 40‐45 ℃ for a duration of 60 min. HT of cancer of the

Cancer of the cervix continues to be a major oncological prob-
lem in developing countries such as India [1]. Cancer of the
cervix is one among the 10 leading cancer sites in India [2]. The
National Cancer Registry Programme ( NCRP), India, has pro-
jected the number of cancer cases for cervix as 1,00,479 cases in
2020 which amounts to 14.3% of the total number of cancer
cases for women in India [3]. Cervical cancer, though on the
decline, stands second next to breast cancer [4, 5]. Unlike women
in economically developed nations, women in India are often
diagnosed at advanced stages [1, 3–6]. Irrespective of the stage at
diagnosis, high dose rate (HDR) intracavitary brachytherapy is
administered as postoperative radiation therapy for endometrial
cancer patients as it helps to reduce vaginal recurrence and has
better gastro‐intestinal toxicity than external beam radiotherapy
[5, 7]. Several clinical trials on cancer of the cervix have clearly
indicated that heat sensitises chemo and radiation treatments and
improves clinical outcomes [8–14]. Hyperthermia treatment
(HT) involves selectively raising the temperature of cancerous
cervix reported in clinical trials was delivered using external
heating devices. The external devices include 70‐100 MHz
multiple annular phased array (MAPA) of 8 dipole antennas
(BSD‐2000), 70 MHz 8‐element waveguide array (AMC‐8) and
27 MHz capacitive regional heating applicator [15]. These ap-
plicators operate at low frequencies to provide deep penetration
in the abdomen area. Typically, large number of antennas (8‐12)
and/or high power of up to 1300 W are required to deliver tar-
geted heating at the cervix [15].
Unlike external heating devices, intracavitary and interstitial
hyperthermia devices require relatively low power (≤ 100 W) as
they are positioned at the tumour site via the natural body
orifice [16, 17]. Clinical trials on intracavitary HT combined
with chemo/radiotherapy showed improved local control and
long‐term survival for cancer of the nasopharynx [18, 19],
larynx [20], oesophagus [21], prostate [22–24], anus [25] and
rectum [26].
Intracavitary microwave applicators reported for HT
include 915 MHz helix coil for treatment of vaginal and rectal

-
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© 2021 The Authors. IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

IET Microw. Antennas Propag. 2021;15:1117–1126. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mia2 1117

1118
- RAJENDRAN
cancers [27], 915 MHz coaxial dipole antennas for prostate
cancer [28], semi rigid 915 MHz coaxial dipole antenna with
metallic reflector for rectal cancer [29], and 434 MHz half wave
dipole for transurethral, rectal and prostate cancers [30, 31].
Wire‐type intracavitary applicators were also reported for HT of
gynaecological cancers [29, 31–37]. Inductive and capacitive
applicators with matching interfaces were reported by Franconi
et al. for intracavitary HT of prostate cancer at 27 MHz [37]. A
half wavelength dipole antenna with reflector was reported by
Kouloulias et al. [31] for prostate cancer at 433 MHz. These
wire‐type intracavitary applicators are typically long (>120 mm)
with small radiation cross section (diameter <3 mm). Further-
more, they maintain omni‐directional power deposition and are
significantly influenced by their insertion depth in tissue. Intra-
cavitary applicators with sectoral power deposition and power
deposition pattern independent of insertion depth are needed
for HT of vaginal cancer. Unlike wire antennas, patch antennas
are aperture type antennas that are compact, low profile, that
possess directional radiation pattern and high gain. Thus, patch
antennas are widely used for passive [38] and active medical
microwave imaging [39] and external means of tissue heating for
HT [40–44]. However, there are no intracavitary applicators
reported in the literature employing patch antennas. The feasi-
bility of intracavitary applicator with conformal patch antennas
for selective power deposition at the target was reported in our
preliminary numerical study [45]. Several conformal patch
shapes were investigated and the study indicated the highest
specific absorption rate (SAR) for spiral and fish tail patch an-
tennas, and homogeneous power deposition with the largest
effective field size (EFS) for rectangular patch [45].
In this work, we present the detailed design and experi-
mental verification of a 434 MHz intracavitary applicator using
conformal rectangular patch antennas for HT of vaginal cancer
with sectoral power deposition confined to the applicator. The
key contributions of this work are as follows:
1. Choice of 434 MHz to ensure HT coverage from tissue
surface to a depth of 20 mm using intracavitary applicator
2. Choice of conformal patch antennas with applicator di-
mensions comparable with HDR vaginal brachytherapy
applicator to deliver targeted heating within 15 mm target
depth spanning 40‐50 mm extent
3. Development of a compact intracavitary array applicator
(40 � 50 mm cylinder) for delivering sectoral power
deposition
4. Experimental verification of the applicator in tissue
mimicking phantom
2 | DESIGN OF INTRACAVITARY
MICROWAVE APPLICATOR
2.1 | Applicator frequency and radius
selection
The rationale behind the choice of operating frequency and
radius of the intracavitary applicator chosen in this study are
AND ARUNACHALAM
F I G U R E 1 Illustration of dipole antenna inside a water filled catheter
radiating EM wave in the surrounding tissue
explained using a simplified model illustrated in Figure 1. In
Figure 1, a z‐directed resonant half‐wave dipole located at the
origin is surrounded by three concentric cylinders. The inner
most concentric cylinder containing the dipole is filled with de‐
ionised (DI) water, the intermediate concentric cylinder of
radius R is the polypropylene intracavitary applicator shell of
0.5 mm wall thickness and the outermost concentric cylinder
of radius 2λt is the cervix tissue, where λt is the wavelength in
the cervix tissue. The height of the concentric cylinders hc was
chosen to be electrically large compared with the dipole length
Ld ¼ λw =2 at the operating frequency that is, hc/Ld > 10,
where λw is the wavelength in DI water. The dipole wire radius
a is electrically thin that is, a=λw ≪ 1. The water‐loaded dipole
antenna represents the simplified model of an intracavitary
applicator of radius R inserted in the cervix tissue defined at
radius r ≥ R. The computational model was realised in HFSS
simulation software. The dielectric properties of DI water and
applicator shell were taken from HFSS materials library and
cervix tissue was assigned the properties reported in literature
[46]. The external surfaces of the computational model were
truncated with radiation boundary condition to absorb the
outward radiated wave. The time harmonic EM field radiated
by the resonant dipole was numerically solved in HFSS at the
following ISM frequencies: 434, 915 and 2450 MHz. Power
deposited by the applicator at location r ¼ |r | in the tissue is
given by,
!
| E |2
Pðr; ωÞ ¼ σ ; ð1Þ
2
was calculated at each ISM frequency. In Equation (1), σ and
!
E are the electric conductivity and electric field intensity,
respectively, and ω is the angular frequency. The penetration
depth of the EM field inside the tissue can be expressed in
terms of the normalized power,
!
PðrÞ ½ E ðrÞ�2
¼ ! : ð2Þ
PðRÞ ½ E ðRÞ�2
RAJENDRAN AND ARUNACHALAM
- 1119

F I G U R E 2 EM power decay in tissue at ISM frequencies for varying

applicator radii R

In Equation (2), power at a distance d ¼ |r − R | inside

the tissue is normalised with respect to the power incident on
the tissue surface defined at r = R.
Figure 2 shows the normalised power density versus tissue
depth d for varying R and ISM frequencies widely used for HT.
From Figure 2, it can be observed that power penetration depth
in tissue increases with a decrease in the operating frequency. For
a given ISM frequency as the applicator radius R increases, the
50% power decay d50 gradually approaches the planewave
penetration depth. From Figure 2, it can be concluded
that 434 MHz provides the deepest penetration and d50 for
434 MHz excitation approaches planewave penetration for
R ≥ 20 mm. Based on the dimensions of the vaginal cylinder
applicators used for HDR brachytherapy [47] and simulation
results in Figure 2, intracavitary applicator with 20 mm radius
was selected for patch antenna design at 434 MHz.

2.2 | Applicator with conformal patch

antenna

Figure 3(a) shows the 434 MHz conformal rectangular patch

antenna modelled on 10 mm thick alumina substrate with 40 mm
outer diameter (OD), 20 mm inner diameter (ID), 50 mm height
and 1 mm ground plane on the inner side, and 1.5 mm thick
polypropylene (PP) shell as the (ε0 = 2.25) outer cover. The
length and diameter of the intracavitary applicator model were
selected based on the numerical analysis in section 2.1. The F I G U R E 3 Intracavitary applicator with a conformal patch. (a) 3D
conformal patch has a shorting pin and was probe fed using simulation model, (b) Power reflection coefficient ρ and (c) current density
!
50 Ω RG401 cable. A high dielectric substrate and shorting pin J ðrÞ on the patch at 434 MHz for the optimised patch dimensions
were chosen for patch size reduction at 433 MHz.
The 3D model of the intracavitary applicator with a materials used in the model are listed in Table 1. The patch and
conformal patch antenna was placed in a cylindrical tissue the conducting parts of RG401 cable, feed and shorting pins
block (240 � 180 mm) as shown in Figure 3(a). The applicator were assigned to be a perfect electric conductor. The outer
was modelled in Ansys, HFSS. The electrical properties of the boundaries of the tissue were assigned radiation boundary
1120
- RAJENDRAN AND ARUNACHALAM

TABLE 1 Electrical properties of model subdomains

Sl. no Domain Conductivity (S/m) Dielectric constant

1 Alumina 0.00 9.00

2 Teflon 0.00 2.10

3 PP 0.00 2.25
a
4 Tissue 0.83 51.38

5 Air 0.00 1.00

a
Value at 434 MHz [46].

condition. The antenna was excited with 1 W swept frequency

continuous wave (CW) signal over 350−500 MHz. The length
(L) and width (W ) of the patch, and locations of the feed (F )
and shorting pin (S) were optimised using pattern search al-
gorithm in HFSS to satisfy the design criteria:

(i) resonance at 434 MHz,

(ii) power reflection coefficient, ρ ≤ −10 dB at 434 MHz,
(iii) −10 dB bandwidth (BW) ≥ 25 MHz to accommodate
variations in tissue impedance, and
(iv) predominantly tangentially oriented electric field to avoid
power deposition at tissue layer interfaces.

The patch dimensions were limited to fit within a quarter FIGURE 4 Simulation results of intracavitary applicator at 434 MHz
! !
of the substrate's outer circumference. Electric field, E ðr ; ωÞ for the optimised conformal patch. (a) Electric field E ðr Þ orientation in
radiated in tissue was calculated by solving the time harmonic applicator midplane (z = 0 mm), (b) volumetric power P(r) coverage in tissue
wave equation. The power density P(r) and SAR in tissue at 434 MHz for 5%, 10%, 25% and 50% of the volume average power Pa in
the target volume
given by,

! conformal rectangular patch for 50%, 25%, 10% and 5% of

SARðr ; ωÞ ¼ ðσ=2ρÞ| E ðr ; ωÞ|2
were calculated at 434 MHz from the electric field. In
Equation (3), ρ is the tissue density. The power deposited by
the patch in the tissue was calculated in one‐third of the
tissue volume, V1/3 defined by ±60� centred about the patch
with 50 mm height, and inner and outer radii of 25 and
40 mm, respectively. The 15 mm radial distance defined for
volumetric power deposition in tissue is based on the depth
of the clinical target defined for HDR intracavitary brachy-
therapy delivered using vaginal applicator [47]. Volumetric
power coverage in tissue Px, defined as x% of tissue volume
with power ≥xP a , where Pa is the volume average power
inside the pre‐defined tissue volume was calculated to assess
applicator performance. The optimised patch dimensions
L = 33.5 mm, W = 27 mm with feed (F ) and shorting (S )
pin offset from the patch centre (z = 0) by +5
and + 8.5 mm, respectively, satisfied the design criteria for
the intracavitary applicator. Figure 3(b) shows the power
reflection coefficient ρ of the optimised patch. The z‐directed
surface current distribution on the patch (Figure 3(c))
maintained predominantly tangential electric field in the tissue
as observed in the applicator midplane shown 2 mm away
from the tissue surface in Figure 4(a). Figure 4(b) shows the
volumetric power deposition (Px) maintained by the
ð3Þ the volume average power Pa. Figure 4(b) indicates confined
sectoral power deposition with Px of 18.7%, 58.1% and
93.1% for 25%, 10% and 5% of the tissue volume,
respectively.
2.3 | Applicator with antenna array
An array of conformal rectangular patches distributed uni-
formly around the substrate outer circumference was modelled
to facilitate sectoral power deposition in the target tissue by
selectively switching on and off the desired patch antennas
based on the clinical extent of the disease. The antenna ele-
ments were probe fed using waveport in HFSS. The feed di-
mensions were based on RG401 cable assembly. Figure 5(a)
shows the 3D model of the 4‐element array applicator for the
same substrate and ground plane dimensions in Section 2.2.
Due to cross coupling between the array elements, the length
(L) and width (W ) of the conformal patches, and locations of
the feed (F ) and shorting pin (P ) were fine‐tuned to satisfy the
design criteria defined in Section 2.2 with antenna cross
coupling ≤−15 dB. The total electric field maintained by the
!
array E array was obtained by superposition of the field radiated
!
by the individual array elements E i and is given by,
RAJENDRAN AND ARUNACHALAM
F I G U R E 5 Intracavitary array applicator model. (a) 3D model of array
applicator, (b) power reflection coefficient of antennas in the optimised
array, (c) Power P(r) deposition in tissue at 434 MHz for 5%, 10% and 25%
of volume average power Pa in the target volume
! !
E array ¼ ∑4i¼1 E i : ð4Þ
The volumetric power deposition and SAR calculated using
!
E array were used to assess the performance of the optimised
array applicator for 1 W power at pre‐determined phase delay.
Figure 5(b) shows the power reflection coefficient
10log10 | Sii |2 of the individual antennas in the optimised
array with L = 32.5 mm, W = 27 mm, and feed and shorting
pin at z = 0 and + 5 mm, respectively, where Sii is the voltage
reflection coefficient at the input port of the ith conformal
patch. Less than 6% variation in patch dimensions was
observed in the optimised array. Array simulations indicated
more than 95% power coupling to the antennas at 434 MHz,
−10 dB BW > 30 MHz and <15 dB cross coupling with the
adjacent antennas.
Figure 5(c) shows the volumetric power deposition Px at
434 MHz for the 4‐element array calculated inside the tissue
volume defined by an annular cylinder of 50 mm height with
- 1121
inner and outer radii of 25 and 40 mm, respectively. Figure 5(c)
indicates uniform power deposition and 360� coverage for
equi‐power and equi‐phase excitation of all antennas.
2.4 | Influence of tissue EM property
As tissue electrical property plays a crucial role on applicator
performance, simulations were carried out for ±10% change
(Δε0 Þ in dielectric constant (ε0 ) and ±10% change (Δσ) in the
bulk conductivity (σ) of the tissue. The percentage change in
tissue dielectric property was based on the dielectric properties
of cervix, uterus and muscle tissues reported in [46]. Table 2
summarises the resonance and volumetric power deposited by
the array applicator for variations in the tissue environment
with respect to the nominal values used in the simulations
(Figure 5). Simulation results in Table 2 are for equi‐power
equi‐phase excitation of 4 antennas. Table 2 indicates that
the patch resonance shifted above 434 MHz for Δε0 = +10%
and Δσ = +10%, and it shifted below 434 MHz for
Δε0 = −10% and Δσ = −10%. However, due to the large BW
(≥25 MHz), 95% of the input power was coupled to the an-
tennas at 434 MHz. Volumetric power deposition, Px in
Table 2 indicates acceptably low variation in applicator per-
formance for variations in tissue dielectric property.
3 | APPLICATOR MEASUREMENTS IN
TISSUE PHANTOM
3.1 | Applicator fabrication
Hollow alumina substrate with low loss tangent was manufac-
tured by re‐crystallisation of electrical grade (99.98%) alumina
powder with 23 nm average particle size (Alfa Aesar, UK). The
electrical properties and dimensions of the sintered alumina
substrate depends on the compressibility of powdered alumina,
compression pressure, temperature and humidity inside the
furnace and the sintering cycle. Electrical properties of alumina
fabricated using the sintering process adopted in this work were
measured by fabricating cylindrical samples with inner and outer
diameters of 3.25 and 6.87 mm, respectively, and less than
+/−50 μm variation in dimensions. Sample lengths were 20.43
and 19.97 mm. The electrical property of alumina samples was
measured using an air coaxial line (85,051‐60,007, Agilent
Technologies, USA) connected to a Vector Network Analyser
(VNA) from Agilent Technologies, USA (E5071 C). Figure 6(a)
shows the dielectric property measurements of the alumina
samples. The measurement average of ðε0 ; ε″ ; μ0 ; μ″ Þ at 434 MHz
is (8.75, 0.05, ≈1, 0.001). The loss tangent of the sintered alumina
was measured as 0.0057, which is desired for applicator fabri-
cation. The deviation between the measured and simulated
substrate dielectric constant is less than 2%. Applicator array
simulations for the measured substrate dielectric property
resulted in conformal patch with dimensions, L = 33.5 mm,
W = 27 mm and feed and shorting pin locations at z = 0
and +4 mm, respectively. The patch length increased due to the
1122
- RAJENDRAN
Volumetric power coverage in
target, Px (%)
Tissue property at 434 MHz Resonance (MHz) P50
0
Nominal (ε =51.38, σ = 0.83 S/m) 434 9.5
Δε0 = +10%, Δσ = +10% 440 9.58
Δε0 = −10%, Δσ = −10% 430 9.70
FIGURE 6 Fabrication results of intracavitary applicator
decrease in the substrate dielectric constant. The alumina pow-
der was compacted using a die and sintered in 1500 ℃ furnace.
The holes for the feed and shorting pin were drilled using a
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine when the sub-
strate was in yielding state during the sintering process. The
sintered substrate was finally finished to the desired dimensions
using diamond grinding blade. The maximum variation in the
length and diameter of the fabricated substrate was less than
1 mm which did not significantly alter the patch resonance and
power deposition in tissue. Figure 6(b) shows the fabricated
intracavitary applicator. Adhesive copper tape was used to realise
the conformal patch antennas and RG401 micro‐coaxial cables
feeding the antennas were guided inside the hollow extended
ground plane.
3.2 | Phantom measurements
The applicator was suspended in a scan tank containing liquid
phantom mimicking the dielectric property of muscle tissue
used in the simulations. A homogenous liquid phantom with
the following mixture composition was used to assess the
performance of the intracavitary applicator: 66.66% diacetin
in 33.33% deionised water measured by weight. The phantom
AND ARUNACHALAM
T A B L E 2 Performance of 434 MHz
intracavitary array applicator for varying tissue
dielectric property. Simulation results for equi‐
P25 P10 P5 power equi‐phase excitation of all antennas
28.7 73.4 88.8
27.9 73.1 84.0
27.6 73.1 87.0
F I G U R E 7 Applicator measurements in muscle phantom.
(a) Illustration of the measurement setup, (b) experimental setup,
(c) applicator power reflection in tissue phantom
dielectric property was characterised by using an open‐ended
coaxial probe connected to the VNA. The phantom dielectric
permittivity was measured as ε0 = 55.7 and σ = 0.79 S/m at
434 MHz which is close to the value used in the simulations
(Table 1). Figure 7(a) illustrates the applicator measurement
setup. A picture of the measurement setup is shown in
Figure 7(b). The applicator was suspended inside the ho-
mogeneous liquid phantom using a plastic clamp and the
coaxial cable was guided through the inner hollow copper
tube during measurements. The phantom was maintained at
body core temperature (37 ℃) during measurements by
circulating temperature‐controlled water outside the phantom
RAJENDRAN AND ARUNACHALAM
F I G U R E 8 Normalised power distribution at 434 MHz (a) XY plane
at z = 0 mm and (b) XZ plane at 5 mm offset for excitation of 1 antenna,
(c) XY plane at z = 0 mm for excitation of 2 antennas with equi‐power and
phase.
container. Figure 7(c) shows the applicator power reflection
measurement for excitation of one of the 4 conformal patch
antennas measured using a VNA. The feed of the remaining
patches was shorted with the ground during measurement.
Figure 7(c) indicates resonance at 434 MHz with less than
0.1% power reflection (<−30 dB) and −10 dB BW of more
than 40 MHz for the fabricated applicator. The power
deposited by the applicator in tissue phantom was measured
by using a scanning 3D electric field probe (ALS‐E−020S,
APREL Inc. Canada) for 1 W power at 434 MHz. Electric
field measurements were recorded in the transverse (XY)
plane defined at z = 0 and z = +25 mm for excitation of
single and two antennas in the intracavitary applicator with
!
equi‐power and equi‐phase. The electric field, E ðrÞ mea-
surements were used to calculate the power deposited by the
- 1123
applicator. Power measurements were normalised with
respect to the maximum value in the respective measurement
plane.
Figure 8(a) shows the simulated and measured normalised
power distributions in phantom corresponding to the appli-
cator mid plane (XY) defined at z = 0 mm for excitation of one
patch antenna. The circular periphery in Figure 8(a) indicates
the applicator boundary. Figure 8(b) shows the normalised
power distribution in XZ plane located 5 mm from the
applicator periphery for excitation of one patch antenna.
Figure 8(c) shows the normalised power in the applicator mid
plane (z = 0 mm) for excitation of two antennas. Antennas
designed for thermal therapy are often characterised in terms
of EFS defined by the 25% power contour line. Applicator
EFS in XY plane (z = 0) for single patch excitation is 180 and
175 mm2 in simulation and measurement, respectively
(Figure 8(a)). EFS increased to 500 and 510 mm2 in XY plane
(z = 0) in simulation and measurement, respectively (Figure 8
(c)). Figure 8 shows good agreement between simulations and
measurements and the feasibility of confined sectoral power
deposition in the target.
4 | STEADY THERMAL SIMULATIONS
Thermal simulations were carried out for synchronous exci-
tation of 1, 2 and 3 antennas to assess the ability to selectively
elevate tissue temperature in the forward direction and spare
the rectum located posterior to the vaginal tissue during HT.
Steady state thermal simulations were carried out by solving
the Penne's bioheat equation [48, 49],
∂T
cρ ¼ ∇ðk ∇ T Þ − cb wb ðT − T art Þ þ P: ð5Þ
∂t
In Equation (5), c is the tissue heat capacity, cb and wb are
the heat capacity and perfusion of blood, respectively, T is the
temperature distribution and Tart is the arterial blood tem-
perature at 37 ℃. Thermal simulations were carried out using
COMSOL for the EM power density imported from HFSS.
3D simulations were carried out in the tissue domain alone for
the thermal properties reported for HT planning [49]. The
tissue outer boundary was set as 37 ℃ as it is located deep
inside the body.
Figure 9 shows the steady temperature in the applicator
midplane for varying excitations. Figure 9(a) shows tempera-
ture distribution for 20 W power delivered to one antenna. HT
is defined as the selective elevation of cancer tissue tempera-
ture to 40‐45 ℃. The maximum temperature in the target
tissue which appeared near the tissue surface was 47 ℃. As
tissue surface is part of the tumour target, tumour tissue
temperature elevation to 47 ℃ is not expected to increase the
healthy tissue toxicity. The surface temperature rise observed in
the thermal simulations could be reduced by cooling the
applicator with circulating temperature‐controlled liquid in our
future work. The 40 ℃ thermal contour in Figure 9(a) shows
radial depth of 11.5 mm in the forward direction within 90� .
1124
- RAJENDRAN
F I G U R E 9 Steady state tissue temperature in applicator midplane
(z = 0 mm) for 20 W per antenna at 434 MHz (a) Antenna 1 excitation,
(b) excitation of antennas 1and 2 with equi‐phase (0� , 0� ), (c) excitation of
antennas 1, 2 and 3 with phase delay of 0� , 0� and 140� , respectively
The penetration depth can be improved by increasing the
power delivered to the antenna.
Thermal simulation result for equi‐power (20 W) equi‐
phase (0� ) excitation of two antennas in Figure 9(b) dem-
onstrates that 40 ℃ contour has increased to 20.6 mm depth
with wider coverage of 180� than Figure 9(a). The coverage
volume increased to 270� for equi‐power (20 W) and varying
phase (0� , 0� , 140� ) excitation of three antennas shown in
Figure 9(c). It should be noted that the phase delay for an-
tenna excitation was manually chosen to achieve 270�
coverage. Preliminary thermal simulation results for the
simplified tissue model indicate that adjustable sectoral power
AND ARUNACHALAM
deposition is possible with synchronous excitation of the
proposed intracavitary array applicator. A detailed investiga-
tion on HT planning using patient specific 3D models will be
presented in our future work adopting global optimisation
techniques [48].
5 | DISCUSSION
A conformal patch antenna array is presented for selective
power deposition for HT of gynaecological cancer. The
conformal intracavitary microwave array applicator is
designed based on the HDR vaginal cylinder used for post-
operative brachytherapy treatment of gynaecological cancers.
Measurements of the 434 MHz intracavitary array applicator
in tissue phantom demonstrated that aperture‐type patch
antennas could be used to provide sectoral and uniform
power deposition in the target tissue which can be defined up
to 15 mm depth from the applicator unlike the traditional
wire antennas which provide uniform power deposition or up
to only 180� coverage. The average penetration depth of wire
type dipole antennas operating at 434 MHz is reported as
6.5 mm [35, 50]. The patch‐type applicator reported in this
study has larger radiating cross section than the dipoles and
monopoles. Thermal simulation results of the proposed
applicator for synchronous excitation demonstrated the ability
to selectively deposit power in the desired direction. Sectoral
power deposition confined to the target tissue was observed
for the proposed compact intracavitary applicator. Table 3
shows the comparison of the proposed intracavitary appli-
cator with the designs reported in literature. In contrast to
the present work, applicators reported in literature employ
wire antennas that are about half wavelength long with
limited ability to deposit targeted heating. It can be observed
that the wire antenna applicators are about 100 mm long.
These applicators require minimal insertion depth of 50 mm
of the non‐active region inside the tissue, which is not
practical for treatment of vaginal cancers. Power deposition
in the forward direction could be achieved only for 180�
coverage using metal reflector or by changing the antenna
location inside the applicator. From Table 3, it can be
concluded that targeted tissue heating is possible sparing the
surrounding healthy tissues by using the proposed intra-
cavitary array applicator. The diameter of the proposed
intracavitary applicator can be reduced and greater number of
conformal patches can be accommodated using engineered
materials with higher dielectric constant and low loss tangent
to realise applicators of varying dimensions to accommodate
variation in the patient size.
6 | CONCLUSION
A conformal array of 434 MHz patch antennas in a compact
intracavitary applicator (40 � 50 mm cylinder) is reported for
HT of gynaecological cancers. In contrast to the wire antennas
used for intracavitary microwave HT, the reported applicator is
RAJENDRAN AND ARUNACHALAM
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TABLE 3 Comparison with intracavitary applicators reported in literature

Ref Frequency (MHz) Antenna type Applicator dia. [mm] Applicator length [mm] Sectoral power deposition
27 950 Helix 30 110 No

28 915 Dipole 7 120 No

b
29 432 Dipole with reflector 14 117 Yes (180� )

31 433 Dipole with reflector 35 150 Yes (180� with a reflector)

35 915 Eccentric dipole 10 112b No

36 915 Monopole 26 160 Yes (moving antenna position)

a
37 27 Inductive, capacitive designs 8 38‐72 No

This work 434 Aperture 40 50 Yes (electronic steering)

a
Dielectric matching interfaces to enhance penetration.
b
Antenna active length. Applicator is longer than the active length.

relatively short, has deeper power penetration and capable of
delivering conformal power deposition in the target. The
performance of the applicator was quantitatively assessed in
terms of power reflection coefficient, bandwidth and power
deposition in tissue phantom. Based on the single element
simulation study, a conformal intracavitary patch array appli-
cator consisting of an array of four rectangular patch antennas
was studied. An applicator prototype was fabricated and
characterised in tissue mimicking phantom. From the charac-
terisation results, it is concluded that the proposed intracavitary
applicator with conformal array of patch antennas could be
used to deliver adjustable power deposition at the target for
HT of gynaecological cancers.
A CKN OW L EDG E ME NT
This work was funded by faculty research management funds,
IIT Madras (EDDRMFXKAVT) and Science and Engineering
Research Board (India), Grant no. SB/FTP/ETA‐461/2012.
The authors thank PhD student Ms. Divya Baskaran in our
laboratory for help with the thermal simulations.
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How to cite this article: Rajendran T, Arunachalam K.
Microwave intracavitary applicator using 434 MHz
conformal patch antennas for hyperthermia treatment
of gynaecological cancers. IET Microw. Antennas
Propag. 2021;15:1117–1126. https://doi.org/10.1049/
mia2.12122