A ferrite core/metallic sheath thermoseed for interstitial thermal therapies.

An alternative form of ferromagnetic seed for thermal therapy has been developed following Matsuki, Murakami, and their colleagues [1]-[4]. A nearly lossless ceramic ferrite core (FC) is surrounded by an electrically conductive sheath. The FC has a high relative intrinsic permeability, typically 3000 at low magnetic field strengths, and a sharp transition from the ferrimagnetic state to the nonmagnetic state. The sheath is either a metallic tube or coating on the core. When this composite seed is excited with a radiofrequency magnetic field, large eddy currents are induced in the metallic sheath (MS) due to the concentrated magnetic flux in the core leading to Joule heating. Advantages of this configuration are that this ferrite core/metallic sheath (FC/MS) thermoseed has high power absorption efficiency and a sharp transition compared to ferromagnetic alloy systems; means of optimizing efficiency are apparent from simple expressions; the outer sheath can be of any biocompatible metal; the production method for the ferrites leads to large quantities of seeds with reproducible properties. The FC/MS configuration solves many of the technical problems that have hindered the clinical implementation of thermally regulating ferromagnetic implants for thermal therapies.