電磁熱療系統為近年來廣泛應用於腫瘤熱治療之技術,其中包含內科經皮穿刺熱燒灼術及外科無血切除術。其原理為利用線圈產生之高頻交流電磁場對各種不同之感磁針具進行感應加熱。本研究開發一同步式高深度電磁熱療系統可延長磁場深度至40 cm,可應用於大型動物及人體之經皮穿刺手術,動物實驗成功的利用兩段式加熱針經超音波導引置針,於同步式高深度電磁熱療系統下,燒灼蘭嶼豬之肝臟,且術後沒有任何併發症。另一方面,利用外科臟器切除,當組織及血管被高溫燒灼後,血管封閉或燒結,以達到無血臟器切除治療之目的,本研究亦開發一電磁熱療系統及矩陣式熱療針,可應用於外科之無血切除手術。此系統及針具已完成動物實驗,成功將豬之肝臟無血切除,術後皆存活並沒有任何併發症,於術後兩周再度開腹觀察,其臟器傷口也沒有任何化膿及發炎反應。其存活率達到100%且術中出血量少於20ml驗證本療法的可行性。
Thermal ablation has been widely explored and may become a promising treatment against cancer. Especially, electromagnetic-based thermotherapy has been extensively investigated for a variety of medical applications in recent years. Briefly, it applies a high-frequency alternating electromagnetic field to heat up nano-particles, seeds, or needles made of magnetic materials which are injected or inserted into the target organs to locally ablate tissues. In this work, two promising applications including internal medicine and surgery for an electromagnetic thermotherapy system have been demonstrated. In internal medicine, a prototype synchronized electromagnetic thermotherapy system equipped with a new coil design and a two-section needle was reported in this study. It could generate an effective alternating electromagnetic field with a deep penetration depth to heat up the needle placed up to 40 cm away from the coils such that a minimally invasive surgery becomes feasible. Several important parameters of the synchronized electromagnetic thermotherapy system, including the heating effect of the needle at different positions, the intensity of the electromagnetic field and the temperature distributions on the tissue around the needle, were first explored. An in-vitro animal experiment was also performed. It showed that the porcine liver could be successfully ablated by the needles array under the long-distance alternating electromagnetic field which effectively penetrated 40 cm deep and the ablation area was measured about 3 cm X 3 cm. Then in-vivo experiments on New Zealand white rabbits and Lan-Yu pigs were also conducted in the study. Experimental results showed that the two-section needle arrays combined with the electromagnetic thermotherapy system could be promising for minimally invasive surgery. In surgery, a new configuration of two-row needle arrays under an electromagnetic thermotherapy system with a temperature feedback control system was demonstrated. With this approach, tissue and tumor could be bloodlessly resected in large animals and humans. The survival rate in the clinical trials achieved 100%, and the blood loss was lower than 20 ml. The developed system may be promising for cancer therapy in the near future.