Using ANSYS for three-dimensional electrical-thermal models for radio-frequency catheter ablation

A three-dimensional finite element model was developed using ANSYS, a commercial finite element analysis software. The effect of temperature-dependent electrical and thermal conductivities to the FE model which incorporated cardiac muscle, blood, electrode and catheter body, was investigated in this study. Computer simulations were performed to calculate the temperature distribution during RF ablation. The authors compared the results of the two cases. For the first case, they used constant properties of the cardiac muscle. The ether case had varying temperature dependent properties. The maximum temperatures found in the cardiac tissue for both cases are significantly different. The lesion depth and volume were larger for the second case. However, the locations of the maximum temperature of both cases were the same. A careful examination of the heat-transfer system during RF ablation is needed.