The Cattaneo Model in the context of Thermoablation of Liver Tumors

Abstract

AbstractLaser‐induced thermotherapy (LITT) is a medical treatment which attempts to destroy liver tumors by thermal ablation. Accurate simulation‐based predictions shall support the practitioner during the therapy. The heat transfer inside the liver is classically described by a nonlinear coupling of the bio‐heat equation and a radiative transfer model. In order to control the speed of heat propagation we consider an additional term for the second‐order time derivative of the solution and obtain a Cattaneo‐like model. For this model we investigate the problem of parameter identification in terms of PDE‐constrained optimization.