Project Overview

Our clients, Dr. Susan Hagness, and her graduate student aids, Luiz Niera and Owen Mays are trying to implement microwave ablation into breast cancer treatment.

Microwave ablation is a type of thermal therapy being used to treat kidney, bone, liver, and lung cancer. Although this process has worked for these types of cancers, it is currently being researched in hopes of being a successful treatment for other types of cancer, such as breast cancer. Microwave ablation treatment denatures and destroys cancerous cells by using the heat generated by microwaves. The power of microwaves is delivered to the cells through an antenna, and monitored through small temperature probes. This technique, if proven effective, would be a preferred method for future tumor treatments because it prevents many side effects that traditional treatments pose for many patients.

The goal of this project is to design a fixture for microwave ablation temperature probe placement that can be easily used by researchers during experimentation in which there is a very limited time window. The researchers will be using our product to gather more accurate data on the increase in temperature caused by microwaves in breast tissue.

Team Picture

Files

• PDS (October 7, 2015)
• Preliminary Report (October 7, 2015)
• Mid Semester Presentation (October 7, 2015)
• Final Presentation Poster (December 9, 2015)
• Final Report (December 9, 2015)

Contact Information

Team Members

• Tej Patel - Team Leader
• Kaitlyn Gabardi - Communicator
• Mitch Resch - BSAC
• Tyler Davis - BWIG
• Cody Kairis - BPAG

Advisor and Client

• Prof. Beth Meyerand - Advisor
• Prof. Susan Hagness - Client
• Luz Maria Neira - Alternate Contact
• Owen Mays - Alternate Contact