Microwave Antenna for Cervical Tissue Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current microwave antenna systems for treating cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) face challenges such as air gaps affecting microwave performance, potential tissue burning due to improper dielectric matching, and adverse effects like bleeding and infection from existing surgical methods like LEEP, which also have limited efficacy and recurrence rates due to HPV presence.
Innovation Solution
A microwave antenna apparatus with a coaxial design featuring electrically conductive ground and elongated elements, dielectric elements for insulation and tissue engagement, and a cupping feature to prevent excessive insertion, matched permittivity to cervical tissue, and adjustable configurations for specific radiation patterns to achieve localized non-ablative hyperthermia or ablation, reducing the risk of tissue burning and improving treatment efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a microwave antenna system is used to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, then microwave energy can be delivered to heat and treat the tissue, but air gaps between the dielectric and target tissue can affect microwave performance and cause breakdown leading to arcing and burning
Solution Approach 1:
A dielectric member is introduced as an intermediary component between the microwave antenna and the cervical tissue. This dielectric member has specific electrical properties (relative permittivity between 2-10 and loss tangent between 0.05-0.5) that allow it to bridge the gap between the antenna and tissue, preventing air gaps while controlling microwave energy distribution to avoid tissue burning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the dielectric member: relative permittivity between 2-10 and loss tangent between 0.05-0.5. By controlling these electrical parameters, the system optimizes microwave energy transmission and distribution, preventing both performance degradation from air gaps and harmful effects from excessive energy concentration.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the dielectric properties of the antenna system are not matched to tissue, then microwave energy delivery is inefficient, but if matched too closely it can cause excessive heating and tissue burning
Solution Approach 1:
The dielectric member is designed with specific parameter ranges (relative permittivity 2-10, loss tangent 0.05-0.5) that optimize the balance between energy delivery efficiency and tissue heating control. These parameters are carefully selected to prevent both inefficient energy transfer and excessive heating that could cause tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The dielectric member converts the potential harm of microwave energy concentration into a benefit by distributing the energy more uniformly. The specific electrical properties of the dielectric material transform what could be harmful localized heating into controlled, therapeutic heating across the treatment area.
3Reliability
If surgical excision methods like LEEP are used to treat CIN, then pre-cancerous lesions can be removed, but adverse effects such as bleeding, infection, and scarring occur with limited efficacy due to HPV presence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical surgical excision (LEEP) with a non-contact microwave energy delivery system. The dielectric member enables focused microwave heating of the target tissue without mechanical cutting or excision, thereby eliminating the mechanical trauma that causes bleeding, infection, and scarring while maintaining treatment efficacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment utilizes thermal phase transitions in the tissue - heating the tissue to therapeutic temperatures (40-50°C) to activate biological responses and destroy pre-cancerous cells. This thermal approach replaces mechanical removal with controlled thermal effects, achieving tissue destruction without mechanical trauma.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system efficiently delivers microwave energy with reduced risk of tissue burning, enhances treatment efficacy by matching permittivity with cervical tissue, and provides adjustable configurations for targeted CIN treatment, potentially improving outcomes and minimizing adverse effects compared to existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
one or more dielectric elements, wherein one or more of the dielectric elements electrically insulate the elongated element and the ground element from one another
Implementation Method 2
employ microwave applicators to radiate microwave energy into the surface tissue of a uterine cervix so as to promote heating and activate biological effects
Implementation Method 3
microwave antenna apparatus for use in radiating microwave energy into surface tissue of a uterine cervix
Implementation Method 4
one or more of the dielectric elements define a cupping feature for cupping a proximal ectocervix region of the uterine cervix and preventing excessive insertion of the central distal feature into the cervical os
Data Source
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AI summary
A microwave antenna apparatus comprises an electrically conductive ground element defining an aperture, an electrically conductive elongated element extending through the aperture and terminating at a distal end, and one or more dielectric elements. The one or more of the dielectric elements electrically insulate the elongated element and the ground element from one another. The microwave antenna apparatus may be configured for use in radiating microwave energy into surface tissue of a uterine cervix so as to provide a therapeutic effect in one or more regions of the uterine cervix, such as one or more regions of the cervix infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) and/or diagnosed with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or so as to create the correct biological response in one or more such regions. The microwave antenna apparatus may be configured for localized non-ablative hyperthermia of the surface tissue of the uterine cervix, localized ablation of the surface tissue of the uterine cervix, and/or cauterisation of the surface tissue of the uterine cervix.