At present, the most commonly used therapies in clinical practice are microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation, both of which are based on the same principle of killing tumours. However, they differ in terms of the specific heat production method, the extent of damage, the treatment effect, the size and location of the tumour, etc. Therefore, different cancer types, or even different cases of the same cancer, may have different choices.

So what is the difference between microwave ablation therapy and radiofrequency ablation therapy? Today, Wattsine microwave generator manufacturers will take you through the differences between microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation.

Microwave ablation therapy and radiofrequency ablation therapy are different in the way they produce heat.

Microwave is a high frequency electromagnetic wave with a frequency of 300MHz-300GHz, the current frequency of microwave ablation is 2450MHz. Microwave ablation is a direct treatment by microwave, the microwave generator will microwave this high frequency electromagnetic wave on human tumour tissue, under the action of microwave to produce magnetic field, causing the charged molecules in the tumour cells to vibrate at high speed, collision and friction between molecules to produce heat, within a short period of time to make the tumour cells reach a high temperature of 60~150 ℃, causing cell coagulation necrosis, the principle is somewhat like a microwave oven.

The advantage of microwave ablation treatment is that the heat is generated quickly and the range can be adjusted to avoid the important organs around the tumour. Statistics show that the 5-year survival rate for early-stage lung cancer that is intolerant to surgery can be around 50% when treated with microwave ablation.

Radiofrequency ablation is a treatment that uses electrical energy to convert into heat, similar to an induction furnace. The tumor is electrified by electrode needles, and under the effect of high frequency alternating current generated by the radio frequency generator, the ions in the tumor cells vibrate and generate heat at a high frequency, and the tumor cells soon reach 60℃~120℃, which can cause dehydration, protein denaturation and subsequent coagulation necrosis of the tumor cells.

Compared with microwave ablation, it has the disadvantages of lower temperature, smaller maximum killing range and slower killing speed, but has the advantages of more precise tumour killing and less damage to normal tissues.

Both microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation are easy to perform, less painful and have less impact on the whole body, and do not have the toxic side effects of chemotherapy or the damage caused by radiation therapy to the body. Even the dead tumour cells can be absorbed by the body to enhance the immune function of the body against tumour.

However, although the principles between the two procedures are similar, the scope of application of the two procedures is very different and they cannot be substituted for each other. The specific application of each procedure will depend on the patient's actual condition.

Microwave ablation therapy has now been widely used in tumour surgery for liver cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, breast cancer, etc. In addition some of the applications in benign tumours and haemangiomas are also effective. Radiofrequency ablation therapy is currently used in tumour treatment mainly for liver cancer and lung cancer. In addition, because radiofrequency can be precisely controlled, it has been maturely used in cardiac treatment and lumbar intervertebral treatment for cardiac arrhythmias and lumbar disc herniation, etc.

Wattsine 100W/200W solid state microwave source at 915MHz, 2450MHz, dedicated to microwave ablation therapy.