Radio-frequency ablation in a realistic reconstructed hepatic tissue

This study uses a reconstructed vascular geometry to evaluate the thermal response of tissue during a three-dimensional radiofrequency (rf) tumor ablation. MRI images of a sectioned liver tissue containing arterial vessels are processed and converted into a finite-element mesh. A rf heat source in the form of a spherically symmetric Gaussian distribution, fit from a previously computed profile, is employed. Convective cooling within large blood vessels is treated using direct physical modeling of the heat and momentum transfer within the vessel. Calculations of temperature rise and thermal dose are performed for transient rf procedures in cases where the tumor is located at three different locations near the bifurcation point of a reconstructed artery. Results demonstrate a significant dependence of tissue temperature profile on the reconstructed vasculature and the tumor location. Heat convection through the arteries reduced the steady-state temperature rise, relative to the no-flow case, by up to 70% in the targeted volume. Blood flow also reduced the thermal dose value, which quantifies the extent of cell damage, from approximately 3600 min, for the no-flow condition, to 10 min for basal flow (13.8 cms). Reduction of thermal dose below the threshold value of 240 min indicates ablation procedures that may inadequately elevate the temperature in some regions, thereby permitting possible tumor recursion. These variations are caused by vasculature tortuosity that are patient specific and can be captured only by the reconstruction of the realistic geometry.