Computational Simulation of Breast Tissue with Lesion Characterized by a Thermal Gradient Oriented to Anomalies Smaller than 1 cm of Diameter.

Abstract

In this work, the computational simulation of thermal gradients related to internal lesions according to the phenomenon of pathological angiogenesis is proposed, this is based on the finite element method, and using a three¬dimensional geometric model adjusted to suit the real female anatomy. The simulation of the thermal distribution was based on the bioheating equation; it was carried out using the COMSOL Multiphysics® software. As a result, the simulation of both internal and superficial thermal distributions associated to lesions smaller than 1 cm and located inside the simulated breast tissue were obtained. An increase in temperature on the surface of the breast of 0.1 ° C was observed for a lesion of 5 mm in diameter and 15 mm in deep. A qualitative validation of the model was carried out by contrasting the simulation of anomalies of 10 mm in diameter at different depths (10, 15 and 20 mm) proposed in the literature, with the simulation of the model proposed here, obtaining the same behavior for the three cases.Clinical Relevance- The 3D computational tool adjusted to suit the anatomy of the real female breast allows obtaining the temperature distribution inside and on the surface of the tissue in healthy cases and with abnormalities associated with temperature elevations. It is an important characteristic of the model when the behavior of the parameters inside the tissue needs to be analyzed.