Non-Fourier bioheat model for bone grinding with application to skull base neurosurgery

Abstract

Bone grinding is used to remove the skull bone and access tumors through the nasal passage during cranial base neurosurgery. The generated heat of the spherical diamond tool propagates and could damage the nerves or coagulate the arteries blood. Little is known about the non-Fourier behavior of heat propagation during bone grinding. Therefore, this study develops an analytical model of the hyperbolic Pennes bioheat transfer equation (HPBTE) to calculate the three-dimensional temperature and necrosis in the grinding region. In vitro experimental investigations were carried out, and the contact zone temperature was measured using an infrared thermography system to validate the proposed thermal model. The results demonstrate that the HPBTE provides more reliable temperature evaluation and thermal damage than Fourier or parabolic heat transfer equation (PHTE). Due to the low thermal diffusivity of the bone, the lower grinding feed rate leads to higher temperature amplitude and a smaller radius of the affected zone in the surface and depth of the bone. Also, the intensity of bone necrosis decreases with the increase of the feed rate, and the shape of the damage zone becomes stretched. This analytical model can assess the potential risk of the surgery before clinical trials. Also, it could be used for comparing the different operating conditions to minimize bone necrosis and improve the control process in neurosurgeries.