Numerical Simulation of the Thermal Response Induced by Electrode Array Geometries in Anisotropic Tissues Containing Multicentric Tumors Under Electrolytic Electroporation

Abstract

The Pennes bioheat transfer equation is the most widely used model for calculating tumor-induced temperature when physical therapies such as electroporation and electrolysis are applied. This work proposes a numerical-computational model based on a modification of the Pennes bioheat equation to quantify spatiotemporal thermal gradients in a multicentric tumor surrounded by healthy tissue, considering them as linear, heterogeneous, and anisotropic media in arbitrary shapes. Our model takes into account the thermal, electrical, and biological properties of each tissue; in addition, Green's functions are discretized to include matching boundary conditions using the finite element method. The objective of this work is to optimize electrode array geometries to maximize therapeutic coverage in the tumor and minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue when using the synergistic combination of electroporation and electrolysis, known as electrolytic electroporation.