Microwave ablation antenna radiation detector
View Patent ↗A radiation detector disposed on a microwave antenna assembly is disclosed. The radiation detector includes a receiving antenna adapted to receive errant microwave energy and a rectifier coupled to the receiving antenna that is adapted to rectify at least a portion of the errant microwave energy. A filter is coupled to the rectifier and is adapted to convert the rectified microwave energy into a detection signal.
1. A radiation detector disposed on a microwave antenna assembly, the radiation detector comprising:
a receiving antenna configured to receive microwave energy and including:
a dielectric substrate;
an antenna member disposed on a first surface of the substrate, the antenna member configured to receive microwave energy;
a grounding member disposed on a second surface of the substrate, wherein the antenna and grounding members are electrically insulated by the substrate;
at least one rectifier coupled to the receiving antenna configured to rectify at least a portion of the microwave energy; and
a filter coupled to the at least one rectifier and configured to convert the rectified microwave energy into a detection signal, wherein the filter includes a capacitor, an inductor and a resistor coupled in series or parallel.
2. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is formed from a dielectric conformal material and the antenna member and the grounding member are formed from a conductive conformal material.
3. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one rectifier is coupled to the antenna member and is shunted to the grounding member.
4. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , wherein the antenna member includes a center tap feed coupling the antenna member to the grounding member.
5. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one rectifier is a diode.
6. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a light-emitting device coupled to the filter, the light-emitting device configured to operate when the detection signal is above a predetermined threshold signal.
7. The radiation detector according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving antenna is selected from the group consisting of a linear antenna and a square patch antenna, wherein each side of the square patch antenna is a quarter wavelength.
8. A microwave antenna assembly, comprising:
a hub configured to couple the microwave antenna assembly to a microwave generator;
a radiating section coupled to the hub through a feedline; and
a radiation detector disposed on the microwave antenna assembly proximal to the radiating section, the radiation detector comprising a receiving antenna configured to receive microwave energy.
9. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 8 , further comprising:
at least one rectifier coupled to the receiving antenna and being configured to rectify at least a portion of the microwave energy; and
a filter coupled to the at least one rectifier and configured to convert the rectified microwave energy into a detection signal.
10. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the receiving antenna is a square patch antenna and each side of the square patch antenna is n λ/4 of a wavelength of the microwave energy and n is an integer.
11. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the receiving antenna further comprises:
a dielectric substrate;
an antenna member disposed on a first surface of the substrate, the antenna member configured to receive microwave energy; and
a grounding member disposed on a second surface of the substrate, wherein the antenna and grounding members are electrically insulated by the substrate.
12. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the feedline includes an outer conductor and the receiving antenna is a linear antenna disposed on the outer conductor of the feedline such that a longitudinal axis of the linear antenna is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the feedline.
13. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 12 , wherein the receiving antenna includes:
a dielectric substrate disposed on the outer conductor; and
an antenna member disposed on the substrate and configured to receive microwave energy.
14. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one rectifier is coupled to the antenna member and is shunted to the outer conductor.
15. The microwave antenna assembly according to claim 11 , wherein the antenna member includes a center tap feed coupling the antenna member to the grounding member.