Design and Optimization of a Miniaturized Antenna for Targeted Hyperthermia in Tumor Therapy

Hyperthermia (HT) is a cancer treatment that involves applying heat to tumor tissues, often in combination with radiation or chemotherapy, to help inhibit tumor growth. Compact antennas will play a crucial role to facilitate localized heating by directing electromagnetic energy specifically to tumor regions. This article introduces a cost-effective, compact, and lightweight circular slot-shaped rectangular antenna (CSRA), a microstrip antenna designed for hyperthermia tumor treatment. It explores the use of hyperthermia as a treatment method, which, while effective, can cause overheating of surrounding healthy tissues, leading to the formation of hotspots. The antenna is modeled within a combined single-layer human tissue model and simulated using Ansys HFSS 2020R1 software. The compact (30 × 30 mm²) rectangular microstrip antenna operates at a resonant frequency of 2.4 GHz, offering a bandwidth of 40 kHz and a return loss of -20.8 dB. The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is calculated along the x-axis within the phantom at a 26.27 mm penetration depth, all of which comply with IEEE standards for safety and performance. Simulated results are validated through measurements and compared with recent literature. The findings, including the antenna's size and design, confirm that this slotted circular antenna is a promising candidate for microwave hyperthermia treatment of tumors.