A MATHEMATICAL MODEL TO PREDICT TISSUE TEMPERATURES AND NECROSIS DURING MICROWAVE THERMAL ABLATION OF THE PROSTATE

This paper presents a mathematical model of transurethral microwave ablation of the prostate. The model, based on the Pennes bio-heat equation, accounts for increases in blood perfusion with increases in tissue temperature. Tissue damage is evaluated by computing the value of the damage integral, and vascular shutdown is simulated by an abrupt reduction in the perfusion when a critical value of the damage integral is reached. The various empirical constants in the model are determined by bench-top experiments as well as by measurements of interstitial temperatures in human patients. The accuracy of the model in predicting the volume of tissue necrosis is assessed and found to be of clinical value