Microwave ablation generator control system

1. A microwave generator system comprising:

a microwave energy source configured to generate a microwave energy signal;

a transmission line coupled to the microwave energy source and configured to carry the microwave energy signal from the microwave energy source to a microwave energy delivery device for treating tissue;

a measurement system coupled to the transmission line; and

a switching network coupled to the transmission line and configured to couple the microwave energy delivery device to the microwave energy source for a first period and to couple the microwave energy delivery device to the measurement system for a second period after the first period.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an attenuator coupled between the measurement system and the switching network,

wherein the measurement system includes an active measurement system configured to measure a parameter of a microwave energy signal propagating through the transmission line.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the active measurement system generates a broadband signal and measures broadband scattering parameters during the second period, further comprising a processor configured to control the microwave energy source based on the measured broadband scattering parameters during a period subsequent to the second period.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the measurement system is a precision network analyzer.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising a dual directional coupler coupled to the transmission line,

wherein the measurement system includes a passive measurement system coupled to the dual directional coupler and configured to measure parameters of microwave energy signals propagating through the transmission line.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the passive measurement system measures forward and reflected voltages of a microwave signal propagating through the transmission line, further comprising a processor configured to calculate a magnitude and a phase of the microwave energy signal based on the measured forward and reflected voltages of the microwave energy signal.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein the parameter of the microwave energy signal propagating through the transmission line is selected from a group consisting of voltage, current, and impedance.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the switching network includes:

a first switch configured to switch a connection to the microwave energy source between the microwave energy delivery device and a first resistive load; and

a second switch configured to switch a connection to the measurement system between a first resistive load and the microwave energy delivery device.

9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a circulator coupled to the transmission line between the microwave energy source and the switching network, and configured to transmit a microwave energy signal received from the microwave energy source to the switching network and to transmit a microwave energy signal received from the switching network to a second resistive load coupled to the circulator.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a third switch coupled to the transmission line between the microwave energy source and the circulator, and coupled to a third resistive load, the third switch being configured to switch a connection to an output of the microwave energy source between the third resistive load and the circulator.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a variable attenuator coupled between the microwave energy source and the switching network.

12. A method of controlling a microwave generator, comprising:

switching an output of the microwave generator to the output of a microwave energy source of the microwave generator;

controlling the microwave energy source to generate a microwave energy signal during a first period;

switching the output of the microwave generator to an input of a measurement system of the microwave generator; and

controlling the measurement system to measure a parameter of a microwave energy signal during a second period after the first period.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the measurement system is a precision network analyzer.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the parameter of the microwave energy signal is selected from a group consisting of voltage, current, and impedance.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

generating a broadband signal and measuring broadband scattering parameters during the second period using an active measurement system of the measurement system; and

controlling the microwave energy source based on the measured broadband scattering parameters during a period subsequent to the first period.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising calculating a magnitude and a phase of impedance based on the measured broadband scattering parameters.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

measuring forward and reflected voltages of a microwave energy signal propagating through a transmission line using a passive measurement system of the measurement system during the second period; and

calculating a magnitude and a phase of impedance based on the measured forward and reflected voltages of the microwave energy signal during the second period.