<I>In Vivo</I> Experiments and Numerical Investigations on Nanocryosurgical Freezing of Target Tissues with Large Blood Vessels

Abstract

This study presented the first in vivo animal experiments of using nano-cryosurgical modality to completely freezing tumor tissues embedded with large blood vessels, which is a tough issue to tackle otherwise. Three-dimensional theoretical simulations were also performed on the complex freezing problems by considering flow and heat transfer of blood flow in large vessels. According to the experimental measurements and numerical predictions, injecting the nanoparticles with high thermal conductivity into the freezing target can significantly reduce the heating effect of blood vessel, shorten the freezing time, and enlarge the freezing range. Most importantly, the introduction of nanoparticles successfully overcomes the classical challenges in completely ablating the tumor region with large blood vessel and enhancing the freezing efficacy of cryosurgery. This investigation consolidates the practical and theoretical foundation for nano-cryosurgery which suggests a highly efficient freezing strategy for treating late stage tumor.