ARTICLE:

• Influence of Pulsatile Blood Flow on Temperature Uniformity during Hyperthermia Treatment  download article

K. M. Khanafer
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Joseph L. Bull
Biomedical Engineering Department, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

R. Berguer
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Section of Vascular Surgery, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

ABSTRACT

We conducted a numerical study to determine the influence of pulsatile laminar flow on temperature distribution in tumor tissues receiving hyperthermia treatment. We utilized both a physiological resting waveform at time-averaged Reynolds number of 50 and 300 and an equivalent pulsatile flow waveform (with equal stroke volumes) in this investigation. The arterial wall was modeled using the volume-averaged porous media equations. Descretization of the transport equations was achieved using a finite element scheme based on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. We validated our numerical model by comparing it with previously published results in literature. Our results indicate that the choice of waveform significantly influences the findings concerning temperature distribution and heat transfer rate during hyperthermia treatment. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of blood velocity pulsations and blood vessel size on temperature uniformity of tissues undergoing hyperthermia treatment is presented in detail. The results of the present investigation illustrate that large vessels have a profound effect on the heat transfer characteristics in tissues receiving hyperthermia treatment. The results of this work may enhance current understanding of the factors which influence the impact of hyperthermia treatment on tumor tissues.

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