Shamseldin Mohammed, Sayer Herbert, Puls Ralf
Department of Radiology, Helios Klinikum Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany.
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Helios Klinikum Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany.
J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2025 Mar;69(2):237-243. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.13840. Epub 2025 Feb 6.
CT-guided microwave ablation (MWA) has become a standard procedure for a range of therapeutic and diagnostic indications, but accurate and stable positioning of the antenna is critical. In this retrospective case series, a navigation guide with a physical cube component, the Access Cube (AC), was investigated as a stability support in addition to its use as a navigation system. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of stability in MWA.
Eight MWAs performed at one centre using the AC were reviewed for clinical and technical success. The stability of the antenna was assessed by subjectively comparing the Euclidian distance (ED) between the needle tip location in the final control scan and confirmation scan. A practising radiologist not associated with the study independently assessed the coordinates, and the mean was calculated from the results.
Six patients (eight procedures) were included (4 females). Mean age of the patients was 75.8 years (range 58-87). Diagnoses included liver metastasis (4, 50%), renal cell carcinoma (2, 25%) and 1 case each (12.5%) of hepatocellular carcinoma and lung metastasis. Mean tumour size was 2.4 cm (range 1.0-4.3 cm), with a mean depth of 10.6 cm (range 5-18 cm). Mean ED of needle tip between final control scan and confirmation scan was 5.82 mm. Technical and clinical success were achieved in all cases with one Grade 2 complication arising.
Usage of the AC was a beneficial addition to the MWA process. Good stability of the antenna was achieved when placed through the AC, eliminating the need for the clinician to manually hold the antenna in place during ablation.
Level 4, Case Series.
CT引导下微波消融（MWA）已成为一系列治疗和诊断适应症的标准程序，但天线的精确和稳定定位至关重要。在这个回顾性病例系列中，一种带有物理立方体组件的导航引导装置——接入立方体（AC），除了用作导航系统外，还被研究作为一种稳定性支撑。据我们所知，这是首次对MWA中的稳定性进行研究。
回顾了在一个中心使用AC进行的8例MWA的临床和技术成功情况。通过主观比较最终对照扫描和确认扫描中针尖位置之间的欧几里得距离（ED）来评估天线的稳定性。一位与该研究无关的执业放射科医生独立评估坐标，并根据结果计算平均值。
纳入6例患者（8次手术）（4例女性）。患者的平均年龄为75.8岁（范围58 - 87岁）。诊断包括肝转移（4例，50%）、肾细胞癌（2例，25%）以及肝细胞癌和肺转移各1例（各12.5%）。平均肿瘤大小为2.4厘米（范围1.0 - 4.3厘米），平均深度为10.6厘米（范围5 - 18厘米）。最终对照扫描和确认扫描之间针尖的平均ED为5.82毫米。所有病例均取得技术和临床成功，出现1例2级并发症。
AC的使用是MWA过程中的一项有益补充。通过AC放置天线时可实现良好的稳定性，无需临床医生在消融过程中手动固定天线。
4级，病例系列。
