Lung Tumor mimicking models for usability validation of transbronchial Microwave Thermal Ablation procedures

The introduction of lung navigation systems in the clinical practice has enabled a transbronchial minimally invasive access to flexible microwave ablation catheters for the treatment of lung cancer lesions. These complex procedures are currently performed under Cone-Beam CT and require lung navigation system and bronchoscope. On bench lung models integrating tumor-mimicking targets for usability assessment are in demand due to the lack of representative in vivo models. In this paper, three tumor models made of minced bovine muscle, bovine tripe and ovine heart were integrated inside inflated ovine lungs and assessed in terms of radiopacity, required piercing force and dielectric properties. The impact of iodine to enhance radiopacity in the other desired model characteristics is also evaluated.