Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between infrared thermal imaging-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-pathology of microwave ablation (MWA) of lesions in rabbit lung tumors.
Materials and methods: MR-guided MWA was performed in nine VX2 tumor-bearing rabbits. Infrared thermal imaging, postoperative MRI, and pathological presentation were obtained and analyzed. The differences between the infrared thermal imaging-MRI-pathology of MWA were compared.
Results: The center of the ablated lesion exhibited a high signal on T1-Vibe, and an isointense envelope was observed; the center of the ablated lesion exhibited a low signal on fat-suppressed turbo spin-echo T2-weighted imaging (TSE-T2WI-FS) and bands of high signal surrounding it compared with before MWA. No statistically significant difference existed between the maximum diameter of the central low-signal area of the ablation zone on TSE-T2WI-FS after MWA, the high-signal area of the ablation zone on T1-Vibe after MWA, and the maximum diameter of the pathological coagulation necrosis area, as well as between the maximum diameter of the isointense signal area peripheral to the ablation zone on T1-Vibe after MWA, the high-signal area peripheral to the ablation zone on TSE-T2WI-FS, the maximum diameter at the 41°C isothermal zone on infrared thermal imaging, and the maximum diameter of the pathological thermal injury zone.
Conclusions: MWA of malignant lung tumors had specific MRI characteristics that were comparable with postoperative pathology. Infrared thermal imaging combined with MRI can be used to evaluate the extent of thermal damage to lung VX2 tumors.
Keywords: Infrared thermal imaging; VX2 tumors; magnetic resonance imaging; microwave ablation; pulmonary cancer.