Abstract: A tissue phantom for experimental studies in Laser Interstitial ThermoTherapy (LITT) for the treatment of small breast tumors was developed and evaluated. The tissue phantom consists of a polyacrylamide/acrylate hydrogel matrix containing various concentrations of an absorber (Nigrosin) and a scatterer (Intralipid 10% solution), allowing the optical properties to be varied in accordance to experimental need. Temperature measurements in the phantom were performed with a thermocouple array placed symmetrically around the fiber axis during laser irradiation for different output powers, treatment duration, and different concentrations of absorber. A 980 nm diode laser system was used in conjunction with an REM LightStic 360 diffusing tip fiber. The polyacrylamide/acrylate matrix tissue phantom remained stable during laser irradiation and produced reproducible results. The behavior of the temperature curves produced by the phantom during laser irradiation was similar to the behavior of the temperature curves in ex-vivo tissue. Therefore, this tissue phantom can be used as a model for the thermal response of tissue during laser interstitial thermotherapy. The phantom will be used as an experimental model to determine a set of optimum laser treatment parameters for laser interstitial thermotherapy of breast cancer. !10
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