Numerical Simulation of Microwave Ablation in Porous Human Liver

Hepatocellular carcinoma is frequently diagnosed at intermediate or advanced stages, where curative resection is often not feasible. In such cases, locoregional therapies must achieve effective tumor control while rigorously preserving healthy liver parenchyma, which is especially critical in a metabolically vital and often compromised organ. This clinical imperative underscores the urgent need for predictive, physics-based planning tools capable of simulating the complex interplay between electromagnetic heating, tissue damage, and drug delivery dynamics, thereby enabling safer and more selective hyperthermia-based interventions. Microwave hyperthermia combined with thermosensitive liposomal doxorubicin delivery is studied numerically using a multiphysics model that couples electromagnetic wave propagation at ۲.۴۵ GHz, Pennes bioheat transfer, Darcy-based interstitial flow, and temperature-triggered drug release in a ۲D axisymmetric ideal liver geometry. Thermal damage is evaluated via an Arrhenius model, and drug efficacy was quantified using the fraction of killed cells. To prevent extensive thermal damage in healthy tissue while ensuring adequate drug delivery to the tumor, multi-objective optimization was performed using a neural network surrogate model. This framework demonstrates that near-optimal treatment protocols can be identified with significantly reduced computational cost compared to exhaustive parametric searches, providing a robust foundation for safer and more effective hyperthermia-based cancer therapy.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cancer ، Bioheat transfer ، Drug delivery ، Thermo-sensitive liposomes