Objective
We seek to establish a method of estimating ablation size to better explore new and better therapies. Researchers utilize both ex vivo and in vivo models to test new ideas. Currently the quantitative results are direct measurements of the ablation diameter. Several different methods are common. The first and easiest is to slice the ablation along any single plane that is coincident with the centerline of the electrode, although the selection of the plane is somewhat arbitrary. The second method is to slice the ablation along many planes that are normal to the centerline of the electrode and take measurements of the slice with the largest maximum small diameter. This multi plane method is time consuming but the min and max diameter can be found with more accuracy. The method we propose herein attempts to increase the speed of measurement without sacrificing size accuracy.

Methods
The proposed method combines fluoroscopic temperature measurement with rate based damage calculation to give real-time ablation size estimation. An array of Luxtron fibers is inserted into the tissue at the centerline of the electrode. The data from these fibers can be used in real time to give an estimation of the size of an ablation or as a post-processing step.

Results
64 radio frequency ablations were monitored and then measured. The data collected by these two different methods shows that they are equally effective at estimating mean ablation size for a particular set of treatment parameters.

Conclusions
This method yields accurate ablation size estimations in shorter times for significantly large groups of ablations. This is useful in cutting down the total time that it takes to compare different ablation methods.