Minimizing Tissue Surface Overheating Using Convective Cooling During Laser-Induced Thermal Therapy: A Numerical Study

Abstract

Laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) is a noninvasive medical procedure for treatment of tumors and small lesion. Skin surface overheating and thermal damage to the undesired areas of tissue are two major concerns during thermal therapy. To determine the efficacy of forced convection surface cooling, the present study demonstrates the numerical simulation for minimizing undesired thermal damage. A two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric cylindrical model is considered with irradiation of continuous wave (cw) laser beam. Bioheat transfer equation in conjunction with radiative transfer equation (RTE) is solved using the finite volume method (FVM) and the discrete ordinate method (DOM). Effect of variation in surface cooling on tissue temperature distribution is studied.