Analytical modelling of ultrasonically induced tissue heating.

Ultrasonically induced heating in biological tissues has been studied for decades because of its implications for the safety of diagnostic systems and for possible therapeutic applications. Analytical models have been developed to study heating for short-term, ablative exposures and for long-term hyperthermia exposures. These models account for many of the acoustic and thermal phenomena implicated in heating but several factors remain to be fully included. Excellent agreement has been found between model results and experimental lesions in the brain and eye. Future developments may provide new capabilities for computer simulations related to safety and therapy.