A new coaxial antenna for microwave ablation therapies is proposed. The antenna design includes a miniaturized choke and an arrowhead cap to facilitate antenna insertion into the tissues. Antenna matching and the shape and dimension of the area of ablated tissue (thermal lesion) obtained in ex vivo conditions are evaluated both numerically and experimentally, finding an optimal agreement between numerical and experimental data. Results show that the antenna is well matched, and that it is able to produce a thermal lesion with an average length of 6.5 cm and an average diameter of 4.5 cm in ex vivo bovine liver when irradiates 60 W for 10 min. Finally, the dependence of antenna performances on possible changes in the antenna's structure is investigated, finding an optimal stability with respect to manufacturing tolerances and highlighting the fundamental role played by the antenna's choke.

In addition to an asymmetric substantial shrinkage of the ablated tissue volume, an initial expansion phenomenon occurs during MW ablation. Thus, complex modifications of the tissue close to a radiating antenna will likely need to be taken into account for future methods of real-time ablation monitoring.

For the selected MW ablation device, ex vivo data on bovine liver was more predictive of the actual clinical performance on liver malignancies than an in vivo porcine model. Equivalent MW treatments yielded a significantly different response for HCC and metastases at higher deposited energy, suggesting that outcomes are not only device-specific but must also be characterised on a tissue-by-tissue basis.

The proposed model allows the prediction of the shrinkage of liver tissues upon microwave ablation given the extension of the carbonised and coagulated zones. This may be useful in helping to predict whether sufficient tissue volume is ablated in clinical practice.

We report swept frequency measurements ͑2-20 GHz͒ of the microwave resistivity in MgB 2 , in the presence of a static magnetic field. Through these data, we experimentally determine the region of the ͕H , T͖ plane in which the band does not significantly contribute to the superfluid density. Within that region, we show that data can be interpreted through standard models for vortex motion and quasiparticle resistivity. We obtain the temperature-dependent band superfluid density and the upper critical field. We find excellent agreement between the dc and microwave estimates of the upper critical field. The temperature-dependent superfluid density agrees with a BCS calculation based on independently obtained data for the large gap. We also measure and discuss the vortex characteristic frequency due to pinning effects.