MicroCT image based simulation to design heating protocols in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia for cancer treatment

The simulated temperature field in the generated tumor geometry and volumetric heat generation rate distribution are reasonable and correlates well with the amount of the total thermal energy deposited into the tumors. The time needed for complete thermal damage is determined to be approximately 12 min or 25 min if one uses the Arrhenius integral Ω equal to 1 or 4 as the damage threshold, when the infusion rate is 3 μL/min. The heating time increases 26% or 91% in the higher infusion rate groups of 4 or 5 μL/min, respectively. Collateral thermal damage to the surrounding tissue is also assessed. Although the two larger infusion rate groups can still cause thermal damage to the entire tumor, the collateral thermal damage would have exceeded the design criterion of 5%, while the assessment criterion is acceptable only in the infusion rate group of 3 μL/min. Based on the results of this study, we identify an injection strategy and heating protocols to be implemented in future animal experiments to evaluate treatment efficacy for model validation.