Planning, optimisation and evaluation of hyperthermia treatments

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Oncology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Hyperthermia treatment planning requires accurate simulations of power and temperature distributions.
• Dedicated software assists in various hyperthermia applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an advanced, flexible software package for hyperthermia treatment planning.
• To illustrate the utility of the software through specific patient and model simulations.

Main Methods:

• Developed a C++ software package, Plan2Heat, on a Linux operating system.
• Included modules for electric field and temperature calculations, optimization, and evaluation.
• Incorporated a sophisticated thermal model with 3D vasculature integration (angiogram or algorithmic generation).

Main Results:

• Treatment planning simulations demonstrated improved tumor heating, with a 50% increase in absorbed power after optimization.
• Accurate modeling of discrete vasculature revealed cold tracks due to blood flow, maintaining temperatures below 40°C in specific regions.

Conclusions:

• A flexible, module-based software package for hyperthermia treatment planning has been successfully developed.
• The object-oriented design facilitates future extensions and applications, enhancing its utility in clinical settings.