A study of the sink effect by blood vessels in radiofrequency ablation

The objective of the current work was to study the sink effect in radiofrequency ablation (RFA) caused by a blood vessel located close to an electrode in a two-compartment numerical model, consisting of a spherical tumor embedded in healthy liver tissue. Several blood vessels of different sizes were studied at different distances from the electrode. It was found that when a straight blood vessel, cylindrical in shape, is located parallel to the electrode, the minimum distance for a drop of only 10% in the isothermal treatment volume above 50 °C, compared to the model without the blood vessel, varies from 4.49 mm (for a vessel of 2 mm in diameter) to 20.02 mm (for a vessel 20 mm in diameter). The results can be used as a guideline to clinical practitioners, in order to quickly assess the potential impact of existing blood vessels on the resulting treatment volume.