Designing piezoelectric stretcher through multiphysics topology for enhanced photodynamic therapy in cancer treatment

Abstract

This study presents an advancement in Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) by introducing piezoelectric stretchers designed to enhance tissue surface characteristics. With a focus on mitigating the impact of irregular tissue surfaces on light distribution, we propose a structural topology optimization method to design a stretcher that utilizes the piezoelectric effect for precise tissue stretching. The aim is to achieve uniform laser irradiance across treated tissue, thereby maximizing therapy efficiency. Our approach involves the formulation of finite element models that consider the piezoelectric effect and the elastic response in a multiphysics framework. Mesh convergence tests were conducted to strike a balance between accuracy and computational efficiency in evaluating the designed piezoelectric stretcher. The investigation into the application of piezoelectric stretchers for enhancing laser irradiance on non-uniform tissue reveals significant improvements in surface uniformity with increasing electric potential. Notably, the disparity between regions of high laser focusing and defocusing decreases as the stretcher expands, achieved through the application of higher voltages. The observed enhancement from no expansion to full expansion is quantified at 31 %. The implementation of electrically driven piezoelectric tissue expansion results in a more uniform tissue surface, leading to an augmentation of laser irradiance. In the absence of expansion, distinct areas of laser focus and near-zero irradiance are noted. Conversely, an increased potential yields a predominantly even surface, with 100 % extension achieving commendable laser irradiance uniformity.