skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A helical microwave antenna for welding plaque during balloon angioplasty

Journal Article · · IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
OSTI ID:398139
;  [1]
  1. Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept.

A catheter-based microwave helix antenna has been developed in an attempt to improve the long-term success of balloon angioplasty treatment of arteriosclerosis. When the balloon is inflated to widen vessels obstructed with plaque, microwave power is deposited in the plaque, heating it, and thereby fixing it in place. By optimizing the helix pitch angle and excitation frequency, the antenna radiation pattern can be adjusted to deposit microwave power preferentially in the plaque while avoiding overheating the healthy artery. The optimal power deposition patterns of helical antennas are analytically computed for four-layered concentric and four-layered nonconcentric cylindrical geometries, which model symmetric and asymmetric occluded arteries. Experiments were performed on occluded artery phantom models with a prototype antenna for both symmetric and asymmetric models, which matched the theoretical predictions well, indicating almost complete power absorption in the low-water-content simulated plaque.

OSTI ID:
398139
Journal Information:
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 44, Issue 10Pt2; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English