Hyperthermia catheter implantation and therapy in the brain. Technical note.

For the treatment of malignant gliomas, a technique for implanting hyperthermia catheters was developed that utilized a stereotactic template and head-stabilization frame mounted on a computerized tomography (CT) scanner. Computerized tomography scans were used to measure tumor dimensions and to determine the number, implantation depths, and active heating lengths of the catheters, which were implanted through twist-drill holes while the patient was in the CT room. Heat was subsequently delivered via implanted catheters using a computer-controlled hyperthermia system, which partially compensates for heterogeneous and time-varying tumor blood flow.