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Radiofrequency Ablation

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Tumor Ablation

Abstract

The goal of radiofrequency (RF) ablation is to induce thermal injury to the tissue through electromagnetic energy deposition. The term radiofrequency refers to the alternating electric current that oscillates in the range of high frequency (200–1200kHz). In RF ablation, the patient is part of a closed-loop circuit that includes an RF generator, an electrode needle, and a large dispersive electrode (ground pads). An alternating electric field is created within the tissue of the patient. Because of the relatively high electrical resistance of tissue in comparison with the metal electrodes, there is marked agitation of the ions present in the target tissue that surrounds the electrode, since the tissue ions attempt to follow the changes in direction of alternating electric current. The agitation results in frictional heat around the electrode. The discrepancy between the small surface area of the needle electrode and the large area of the ground pads causes the generated heat to be focused and concentrated around the needle electrode (1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Transplants, and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Riccardo Lencioni MD (Associate Professor of Radiology) & Laura Crocetti MD (Research Fellow)

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  1. Riccardo Lencioni MD
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  2. Laura Crocetti MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Eric vanSonnenberg MD (Chief of Radiology, Interventional Radiologist) (Chief of Radiology, Interventional Radiologist)

  2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Eric vanSonnenberg MD (Chief of Radiology, Interventional Radiologist) (Chief of Radiology, Interventional Radiologist)

  3. Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    William N. McMullen (Interventional Oncology Consultant) (Interventional Oncology Consultant)

  4. Department of Radiology, Ospedale Civile Busto Arsizio, 21052, Busto Arsizio, Italy

    Luigi Solbiati MD (Chairman) (Chairman)

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Lencioni, R., Crocetti, L. (2005). Radiofrequency Ablation. In: vanSonnenberg, E., McMullen, W.N., Solbiati, L., Livraghi, T., Müeller, P.R., Silverman, S.G. (eds) Tumor Ablation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-28674-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-28674-8_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95539-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-28674-7

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