The performance of a new 915-MHz direct contact applicator with reduced leakage.

The technical feasibility of commercially developing a safe and effective direct contact diathermy applicator operating at the industrial, scientific, medical (ISM) frequency of 915 MHz is demonstrated. The basic design consists of a circular waveguide which is internally loaded with two orthogonal pairs of forward ridges to obtain circular polarization and two rear ridges with a probe to excite the guide. Two prototype designs are considered: the small applicator (15 cm diameter) has one annular choke covered with a 2.5-cm thick microwave absorber, and the large applicator (25 cm diameter) has two additional concentric chokes to limit leakage radiation. The performance of the applicators was evaluated in terms of the requirements of a ORH microwave diathermy test protocol to control stray radiation and deliver a thermally effective absorbed dose rate to simulated muscle tissue of a phantom with a 1-cm or 2-cm fat layer. The net power required to deliver a thermally effective 235-W/kg specific absorption rate (SAR) to such a planar phantom was determined. For this net power, leakage levels considerably less than 5 mW/cm2 (at 5 cm from applicator-phantom boundary) were obtained for the applicators in direct contact with the phantom. If a small spacing (1 cm) between these applicators and planar phantoms is introduced, the net power required to deliver an effective SAR to a phantom and the associated leakage can become excessive. For the small applicator, the required net power for inducing an SAR of 235 W/kg in muscle tissue of a 1-cm fat layer phantom is about 330 W and the leakage is about 120 mW/cm2. For a 2-cm fat layer phantom, these values are somewhat higher. For the large applicator, using a 1-cm fat layer phantom, the values are about 200 W and about 17 mW/cm2. Again, for a 2-cm fat layer phantom, these values are somewhat higher.