Numerical Temperature Analysis of Magnetic Hyperthermia Considering Nanoparticle Clustering and Blood Vessels

Magnetic fluid hyperthermia can ablate malignant cells by using heat from magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) when subjected to an alternating magnetic field. In comparison with other types of MNPs, the ones with low Curie temperature (LCT) have the characteristic of temperature self-regulation, which contributes to its choice for hyperthermia therapy. To validate the advantages of LCT MNPs over MNPs with high Curie temperature, this paper proposes a complex geometric model based on the prototype of a human liver, in which blood vessels (BVs) and nanoparticle clustering are considered. In this paper, the temperature fields of tumor tissue with different MNPs are predicted by solving the Pennes bioheat transfer equation, while the effect of BVs is taken into account by solving the Navier-Stokes equation. Simulation results demonstrate that MNP systems with LCT can have better therapeutic effect than the Fe
₃
O
₄
MNPs if the power dissipation is increased with respect to its critical value. Higher thermal energy absorbing from magnetic field not only increases the uniformity of the temperature field, but also can shorten the startup time in MNP systems with LCT, which does not occur in Fe
₃
O
₄
MNPs systems. Such advantages of LCT MNPs are observed for minimizing the undesirable effects of both BVs and MNP clustering.