Hyperthermia

Cancer is one of the most frequent causes of death in§Europe, only exceeded by different forms of cardiac§insufficiency and apoplectic stroke with an§increasing tendency. This is why there is the need to§find alternative or complementary ways to treat this§disease. A very promising way of treating malignant§tumours is hyperthermia. The book gives a detailed§overview about hyperthermia. The introduction into§the history is followed by listing different forms of§hyperthermia. Different ways to generate heat are§introduced subsequently. After a detailed§introduction into ultrasound principles there is an§investigation in modelling transducer arrays to get§desired ultrasonic fields. A way to simulate arrays§is elucidated, this involves the introduction of§UltraSim, a software add-on for Matlab. The§simulation is verified with an existing device. The§work concludes with an assessment of the findings.§The book is meant for clinicians and scientist who§have interest in hyperthermia induced by ultrasound§but also for interested patients looking for a better§understanding of history, effectiveness and the§different types of hyperthermia.