Control of the temperature rise in magnetic hyperthermia with use of an external static magnetic field

Our purpose in this study was to investigate the usefulness of a method for controlling the temperature rise in magnetic hyperthermia (MH) using an external static magnetic field (SMF), and to derive an empirical equation for describing the energy dissipation of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the presence of both the alternating magnetic field (AMF) and SMF through phantom experiments. We made a device that allows for MH in the presence of an SMF with a field-free point (FFP) using a Maxwell coil pair. We measured the temperature rise of MNPs under various conditions of AMP and SMF and various distances from the FFP (d), and calculated the specific absorption rate (SAR) from the initial slope of the temperature curve. The SAR values decreased with increasing strength of SMF (H-s) and d. The extent of their decrease with d increased with an increase of the gradient of SMF (G(s)). The relationships between SAR and H-s and between SAR and d could be well approximated by Rosensweig's equation in which the amplitude of AMF (H-ac) is replaced by H-ac(2)/root H-ac(2) + H-s(2) except for the case when G(s) was small. In conclusion, the use of an external SMF with an FFP will be effective for controlling the temperature rise in MH in order to reduce the risk of heating surrounding healthy tissues, and our empirical equation will be useful for estimating SAR in the presence of both the AMF and SMF and for designing an effective local heating system for MH. (C) 2012 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.