Determination of power deposition patterns for localized hyperthermia: a steady-state analysis.

Hyperthermia applicator design has concentrated on developing systems that allow control of power deposition patterns. In this paper, a method is detailed which uses the steady-state bioheat transfer equation and the target temperature distributions in normal and tumour tissue to calculate the desired steady-state power deposition patterns. This prospective thermal dosimetry approach is demonstrated analytically for three tumour models: an infinite half-space model; an infinite cylinder model; and a spherical model. A three-dimensional numerical method is demonstrated for two different tumour geometries and further applications of this method are discussed.