Numerical calculations of the temperature distribution in realistic cross sections of the human body.

Numerical calculations of the temperature distribution in detailed cross sections of the human body are presented. The solution procedure uses a finite-difference representation of the bioheat transfer equation, and thus it routinely considers the various heat exchange mechanisms including the blood flow rate, heat conduction and the metabolic heat generation. The new feature of the presented solution, however, is related to the utilization of the detailed electromagnetic power deposition patterns obtained numerically using the method of moment. In the present calculations, therefore, the temperature distribution is based on a realistic description of the various tissue distributions in the cross section of the human body and the radiation characteristics of the electromagnetic source. The obtained results clearly showed a significant dependence of the temperature distribution on the values of the blood flow rates used in the modeling. Present efforts which include the use of the developed computer program in the planning of the hyperthermia treatments, as well as its use as a study tool for investigating the effect of the variation of the various radiation and thermal parameters on the desired temperature distributions, are described.