Investigation of identification size of liver tumor by open-ended coaxial probe

The open-ended coaxial probe method is the most commonly used approach for retrieving the dielectric properties of human tissues. This method is also often used to identify cancer because of the difference between the dielectric properties of normal and malignant tissues. This technique not only ensures quick measurement but also has a good identification effect. Although it has the potential to be utilized in tumor surgeries, its clinical application is hindered by the lack of an established identifiable tumor size. In this study, we examine the minimum detectable size of liver tumors by simulation and Mann–Whitney U test. Then, a phantom experiment was conducted to verify the simulation results. For Probes 1, 2, 3, and 4, the smallest cancer tumor detectable size is 0.59, 1.05, 1.85, and 2.95 mm radius, respectively. Furthermore, an evaluation approach for investigating the minimum detectable size of tumors through different probes is proposed. The results showed that the identification sizes were affected by the frequency and size of the probe. Moreover, the minimum detectable size of liver cancer and the crucial factors were investigated in this work.