Radio frequency thermotherapy

The electromagnetic heating method for the localized heating treatment of body tissues to therapeutic temperatures by exposing the tissue to an EM heating field comprising the steps of;

• providing a principal heating field through the generating of a hybrid passband applicator;
• providing at least one auxiliary and coherent heating field generated by at least one active auxiliary electromagnetic heating device energized by an independent power source;
• superimposing said principal heating field and said at least one auxiliary and coherent heating field over said tissues to be exposed;
• and
• controlling the relative phase, amplitude and orientation of said principal and auxiliary heating fields to generate a positive interference pattern preferentially localized over said tissues to be exposed to produce enhanced temperature elevations.

An electromagnetic heating method for the localized heating treatment of body tissues to therapeutic temperatures by exposing said tissues to an EM heating field produced by a hybrid passband applicator (HPA) comprising:

• producing an electromagnetic power source, the frequency of said source ranging from about 0.1 MHz to 2450 MHz;
• positioning a below cutoff waveguide segment having one end terminated by an active treatment aperture;
• positioning resonant radiating means inside said waveguide segment to produce multi-modal and direct heating fields;
• matching said resonant radiating means to said power source;
• turning said resonant radiating means to the frequency of said power source;
• controlling output level of said power source to said resonant radiating means;
• and
• matching electromagnetically said active treatment aperture to said body tissue for optimizing the energy transfer to the body tissue and directing over said body tissue the composite heating fields resulting from the superposition of said multi-modal and direct heating fields.

An electromagnetic heating apparatus for heating treatment of localized body tissues to therapeutic temperatures by exposing said tissues to an EM heating field produced by a hybrid passband applicator (HPA) comprising:

• an electromagnetic power source, the frequency of said source ranging from about 0.1 MHz to 2450 MHz;
• a below cutoff waveguide structure having one end terminated by an active treatment aperture connected to said power source;
• a plurality of sets of resonant radiating elements positioned inside said waveguide structure;
• a first set of resonant radiating elements positioned within said waveguide structure adapted to work as pure exciters producing a multi-modal heating field propagating through said active treatment aperture;
• a second set of resonant radiating elements positioned within said waveguide structure adapted to work both as exciters and direct radiators producing a multi-modal heating field and a direct heating field, respectively, both fields propagating through said active treatment aperture;
• matching means matching said sets of resonant radiating elements to said power source:
• tuning means tuning said sets of resonant radiating elements to the frequency of said power source;
• control means controlling the output level of said power source to each of said sets of resonant radiating elements;
• and
• means to electromagnetically match said active treatment aperture to said body tissue for optimizing the energy transfer to the body tissue and directing over said body tissue the composite heating fields resulting from the superposition of said multi-modal and direct heating fields.

An electromagnetic heating apparatus for heating treatment of localized body tissues to therapeutic temperatures by exposing said tissues to an EM heating field produced by a hybrid passband applicator (HPA) comprising:

• an electromagnetic power source, the frequency of said source ranging from about 0.1 MHz to 2450 MHz;
• a below cutoff waveguide structure having one end terminated by an active treatment aperture connected to said power source;
• a plurality of sets of resonant radiating elements positioned inside said waveguide structure comprising;
• a first set of resonant radiating elements positioned within said waveguide structure adapted to work as pure exciters producing a multi-modal heating field propagating through said active treatment aperture;
• and
• a second set of resonant radiating elements positioned within said waveguide structure adapted to work both as exciters and direct radiators producing a multi-modal heating field and a direct heating field, respectively, both fields propagating through said active treatment aperture;
• matching means matching said sets of resonant radiating elements to said power source;
• tuning means tuning said sets of resonant radiating elements to the frequency of said power source;
• control means controlling electromagnetic energy from said power source to each of said sets of resonant radiating elements;
• means to electromagnetically match said active treatment aperture to said body tissue for optimizing the energy transfer to the body tissue and directing over said body tissue, the composite heating fields resulting from this superposition of said multi-modal and direct heating fields;
• and
• at least one additional assembly of like element phased array to that of said hybrid passband applicator, said hybrid passband applicator generating a total heating field, said total heating field being preferentially directed over said body tissue, all of said like elements of said phased array being coherent with one another and individually controlled in phase, amplitude and orientation to give rise to a positive interference pattern and to preferential enhanced temperature elevations of said body tissue.