Improved numerical modelling of heat transfer in human tissue exposed to RF energy

Abstract

A novel numerical model to simulate thermal response of human body tissues exposed to RF energy is presented in this article. It is based on a new algorithm for the construction of a realistic blood vessel network, a new model of blood flow velocity distribution and an approach to solve the bio-heat equation in human tissue with variable and initially unknown blood temperature distribution. The algorithm generates a discrete 3D representation of both arterial and venous vascular networks and a continuous blood velocity vector field for arbitrary enclosed geometries required to represent the complex anatomy of human body and blood flow. The results obtained in this article by applying the developed method to realistic exposure conditions demonstrates relative difference in thermal response of the exposed tissue compared to results obtained by conventional bio-heat equation with constant blood perfusion and temperature. The developed technique may provide more accurate and realistic modelling in thermal dosimetry studies of human body RF exposure.