Thermal modeling for MRI-guided radiofrequency tumor ablation

Interventional magnetic resonance imaging (IMRI) provides an image-guided, minimally invasive method for eliminating cancerous tumors. When a small diameter RF probe is inserted into a solid tumor, the energy from the probe produces a current that heats the tissue to a sufficiently high temperature to kill cells. The procedure is designed to kill tumor cells with minimal damage to normal cells. To quantify and predict the thermal response of the tumor and surrounding tissue to heat produced internally with an RF probe, it is essential to model and simulate the 3-D temperature dynamics in the heated tumor by using an appropriate bioheat equation.