Ocular tumor treatments with focused ultrasound: effects of beam geometry, tissue morphology, and adjacent tissues

Three-dimensional simulation procedures have been implemented to evaluate ultrasonic treatments of ocular tumors using high-intensity focused ultrasound. To emulate realistic tissue geometry, the simulations involved normal tissues and tumors whose conformation was documented using clinical ultrasound scans in parallel planes. Therapy beams with asymmetric focal-plane patterns were aimed at the tumor and the bioheat equation was evaluated to compute the 3D temperature distributions induced as a function of time. These procedures are now being used to refine the design of therapy beams, intensity levels, and exposure strategies to treat entire tumors.