An Open-Source Tool for Automated Planning of Overlapping Ablation Zones

Abstract

Percutaneous thermal ablation is a minimally-invasive treatment option for renal cancer. To treat larger tumours, multiple overlapping ablations zones are required. Arrangements with a low number of ablation zones but coverage of the whole tumour volume are challenging to find for physicians. In this work, an open-source software tool with a new planning approach based on the automatic selection from a large number of randomized geometrical arrangements is presented. Two uncertainty parameters are introduced to account for tissue shrinking and tolerance of non-ablated tumour volume. For seven clinical renal T1a, T1b and T2a tumours, ablation plans were proposed by the software. All proposals are comparable to manual plans of an experienced physician with regard to the number of required ablation zones.

Design of Path-Planning System for Interventional Thermal Ablation of Liver Tumors Based on CT Images

“…The system can display thermal dose distribution on 2D image slices and 3D structures, support repeated editing and viewing of treatment plans, and assist doctors in surgical path planning. Franz et al [ 18 ] designed a multi-needle ablation planning system for larger tumors based on the open-source framework MITK (the Medical Imaging Interaction Toolkit), focusing on the number and placement of ablation needles. Retrospective validation studies showed that system-planned paths were comparable to manual planning by clinicians in terms of the required number of ablation zones.…”