A prototype device for microwave radiation cancer treatment has been developed
November 10, 2025
Russian scientists have developed the country's first prototype complex that allows destroying tumors using microwave radiation without surgical intervention. An application for product registration with Roszdravnadzor is planned to be submitted in 2026, TASS reports, citing project head Fyodor Kochetov.
"Such instruments already exist in the world, but not in Russia, so the first task we are solving is import substitution. Our prototype has already successfully passed laboratory tests," the agency's interlocutor said.
The complex includes an antenna connected to a microwave generator. The antenna is inserted into the tumor and emits electromagnetic energy. It is delivered directly to the tissues, ensuring localized heating.
The emitted energy causes water molecules to heat up. Water molecules transfer energy to the surrounding tissue, and when a sufficiently high temperature is reached, destruction occurs.
The technology's distinctive feature is that microwave energy is directed at the area containing the tumor tissue, so healthy tissues and vital structures outside the designated area are not subjected to excessive thermal damage.
The main tumors for which the device can be used include breast cancer, thyroid cancer, as well as neoplasms in the lungs, kidneys, and liver. The duration of surgery using such a device is 20 minutes, compared to an hour for tumor removal using open surgery.
In addition, among the complex's advantages are that its use requires only one surgeon and local anesthesia instead of general anesthesia. Kochetov clarified that the device is 70% composed of domestic components and, in terms of some parameters, surpasses existing foreign analogues from China and the USA. In particular, the developed complex can affect areas ranging from 6.5 mm to 70 mm.
For the first time in Russia, the microwave ablation method for removing pancreatic and parathyroid tumors was applied at the N. N. Burdenko Clinic of Faculty Surgery of Sechenov University. "The main advantage of ablation is its minimally invasive nature, where access to the tumor is achieved without an incision, only through punctures. After the surgery, an excellent cosmetic effect is achieved: there are practically no traces of intervention. Ablation does not take as much time as a full-fledged surgery; the tumor is effectively "evaporated," and its destruction is achieved in literally a few minutes," Maxim Saliba, Associate Professor at the Department of Faculty Surgery No. 1 of Sechenov University, told TASS.
The project was presented during the presentation of developments by the winners of the acceleration program for aspiring entrepreneurs and technology startups "A:START," which is conducted by the team of the business incubator of the Novosibirsk Technopark "Akademparc." Kochetov added that the developments within the startup are being carried out with the participation of scientists from Sechenov University, Novosibirsk State University, institutes of the Siberian Akademgorodok, Nizhny Novgorod, and Moscow. The project authors expect to launch the device on the Russian market in 2029, and on the international market in 2032.