J0102-3-3 Simulation of the high intensity focused ultrasound therapy including the heat coagulation of tissue

Abstract

The development of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) therapy for the treatment of deeply-placed tumor has been desired. Problems are the displacement of focal point due to the reflection and refraction of ultrasound at the interfaces of bones and the attenuation of ultrasound due to the skins, fat and tissues. To minimize the invasive region of tissues by HIFU, the numerical simulation is available for the prediction of the treatment of tissues. In the present study, the HIFU therapy for the liver tumor is represented numerically. The simulation with the heat coagulation shows that the increase of acoustic impedance due to the coagulation causes the scattering of ultrasound at the interface of the coagulation region, which then develops toward the transducer. Therefore, the influence of the heat coagulation of tissue on the acoustic field should be considered to predict the treatment region precisely.