BIOHEAT EQUATIONS

BIOHEAT EQUATIONS
Heat transfer in blood vessels and tissues

Mihir Sen

March 17, 2013

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BIOHEAT EQUATIONS

Outline

Bioheat transfer problem

Large blood vessels
Tissues and microvasculature
Pennes’s equation
Other models
Transient equations
Multiscale problem

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Bioheat transfer applications

Body heat balance
Thermoregulation
Thermogeneration
Heat transfer in muscles and tissues
Skin burns
Surgical procedures
Ablative surgery
Cryosurgery
Therapeutic hyperthermia
Therapeutic hypothermia
Cryopreservation
Organs for transplant
Resuscitation medicine
Extracorporeal equipment
Measuring instruments
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Properties

Thermodynamic properties (density, compressibility, specific

heat)
Transport properties (thermal conductivity)
Properties of frozen tissue
Temperature dependence of properties
Water and fat content dependence
Convective heat transfer coefficient
Rate of perfusion

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Metabolism

Chemical reactions in living organisms to generate heat

Thermodynamically, metabolism maintains order by creating
disorder
Metabolic regulation

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Allometry of metabolism
Savage et al. (2004): 626 mammalian species

BMR = basal metabolic rate [W], M = mass [g]

BMR ∼ M 3/4
Heart and respiratory rates, stride frequencies ∼ M −1/4
Life spans, times to first reproduction ∼ M 1/4
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Summary of heat transfer mechanisms

Conduction (Fourier’s law)

q̇′′ = −k∇T
Advection
q̇′′ = ρcV (T − Tref )
Convection (Newton’s law of cooling)
q̇ ′′ = h (Tsurf − Tfluid )
Radiation (Stefan-Boltzmann’s law)
¡ 4 4
¢
q̇ ′′ = ǫσ Tsurf − Tsurr

1
q̇ ′′ ≈ (Tsurf − Tsurr )
Rrad
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Large blood vessels

Tw
z
′′
q̇w
Wall boundary conditions (inner surface)
Constant wall temperature, Tw = constant
′′ = constant
Constant wall heat flux, q̇w
Conjugate heat transfer
Continuity of temperature at wall
Continuity of heat flux at wall
Matching with external heat transfer
Bulk (mean, average or mixing cup) temperature
R
ρvcp T dA
Tm = A
ṁcp
Z R
2
= v(r)T (r)r dr
vm R 2 0 8/ 36
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Large blood vessels: energy equation

Integral approach
(
′′ P dz
q̇w known wall heat flux
ṁc dTm =
h (Tw − Tm ) P dz known wall temperature

Differential approach (cylindrical coordinates)

∂T ∂T vθ ∂T ∂T
+ vr + + vz
∂t ∂r r ∂θ" ∂z #
k 1 ∂ ¡ ∂T ¢ 1 ∂2T ∂2T
= r + 2 2 + +Φ
ρcp r ∂r ∂r r ∂θ ∂z 2

Φ = viscous dissipation (conversion from mechanical to thermal

energy)
Nondimensional: Péclet number = V D/α
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Large blood vessels: preliminaries

Thermally fully developed if

½ ¾
∂ Tw (z) − T (r, z)
=0
∂z Tw (z) − Tm (z)

Entrance length Lthermal = Pr Lhydro ; for blood Pr = 10–25

Nusselt number Nu D = hD/k where q̇ ′′ = h(Tw − Tm )
Correlations Nu D = Nu D (Re, Pr )

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Large blood vessels: laminar flow

Constant wall temperature Tw

Nu D = 3.66
Tw − Tm (z)
= e−z/Le
Tw − Tm (0)
ṁcp
Le = (thermal equilibration length)
Ph

At the exit

Tw − Tm (L)
= e−L/Le
Tw − Tm (0)

Notice that Tm (L) = Tw for L ≫ Le .

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Chen and Holmes (1980)

Vessels of diameter ≈ 175µm have anatomical length ≈
thermal equilibration length (these are called thermally
significant blood vessels)
Temperature in smaller vessels are quickly equilibrated and do
not contribute much to heat transfer.
Larger vessels are sparse and do not contribute much to heat
transfer.

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Large blood vessels: laminar flow

′′
Constant wall heat flux q̇w

Nu D = 4.36
′′ P
q̇w
Tm (z) = Tm (0) + z
ṁcp

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Flow in porous media

http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/mle/images.htm

Darcy’s law (1856)

µ
−∇p = v
K
K = permeability [m2 ]

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Modifications
Transient Darcy equation
µ ∂v
−∇p = v + ρc ·
K ∂t
Darcy-Brinkman equation
µ
−∇p = v − µeff ∇2 v
K
Darcy-Forchheimer equation
µ cF ρ|v|v
−∇p = v+ √
K K
Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer equation
µ cF ρ|v|v
−∇p = v+ √ − µeff ∇2 v
K K
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Porous medium heat transfer: single-temperature model

∂T ′′′
(ρc)m + (ρc)f v · ∇T = ∇ · (km ∇T ) + q̇m
| {z }∂t | {z } | {z } |{z}
advection conduction generation
accumulation

(ρc)m = (1 − α)(ρc)s + α(ρc)f

km = (1 − α)ks + αkf
′′′ = (1 − α)q̇ ′′′ + αq̇ ′′′ heat generation per unit volume
q̇m s f

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Porous medium heat transfer: two-temperature model

∂Ts
(1 − α)(ρc)s = (1 − α)∇ · (ks ∇Ts ) + h(Tf − Ts ) +(1 − α)q̇s′′′
∂t | {z }
fluid to solid
µ ¶
∂Tf
(ρc)f α + v · ∇Tf = α∇ · (kf ∇Tf ) + h(Ts − Tf ) +αq̇f′′′
∂t | {z }
solid to fluid

α = porosity (fraction of fluid by volume)

′′′ = heat generation per unit volume
q̇s,f
s = solid
f = fluid

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BIOHEAT EQUATIONS

Circulation tree

Branching Rn+1 < Rn

Pin Pout

p
Womersley number α = R ωρ/µ
α → 0 as R → 0, so flow is steady (not pulsating)
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Branching in human cerebral cortex

Francis et al. (2009)

Typical arteriole (right) and venule (left), scale bar = 1 mm

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Murray’s law (1926)

Applied to
Circulatory system
Respiratory system
Water transport system in plants (xylem)
Obtained from
Minimization of energy expenditure by an organism.
One parent branch of radius r with n daughter branches of radii ri
n
X
r3 = ri3
i=1

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Pennes’s bioheat equation (1948)

tissue
∂qx
qx qx + dx
∂x
∂T ′′′
ρc = ∇ · (k∇T ) + q̇m + ωρb cb (Ta − T )
∂t | {z }
artery perfusion
Ta T
T = tissue temperature
′′′
q̇m = metabolic heat source rate [W/m3 ]
ω = perfusion rate, volumetric flow rate of blood per volume of tissue
[s−1 ]
Ta = arterial blood temperature

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Experiments

Wissler’s (1998) analysis of Pennes’s data (resting human forearm)

Experimental data and Pennes’s theoretical values

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Whole-body heat transfer

Ferreira and Yanagihara (2009)

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Heat transfer by conduction inside the body

∂T ′′′
ρc = ∇(k · ∇T ) + q̇m
∂t
Heat transfer to outside by radiation and convection
′′ ′′
q̇rad + q̇rad = Crc (Tskin − Toutside )
Heat transfer to outside by evaporation (p = partial pressure)
′′
q̇evap = Ce (pskin − poutside )
Heat transfer between blood and tissue (Pennes’s bioheat equation)
∂T ′′′
ρc= ∇(k · ∇T ) + ωρb cb (Ta − T ) + q̇m
∂t
Thermoregulatory system
¡ ¢
∆ωskin = K1 (Th − Th0 ) +K2 Tskin − Tskin0
| {z }
hypothalamus

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Berkeley Comfort Model (2001)

Huizenga et al. (2001)

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Counterflow model for extremities

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Thermal resistance

For electrical resistance

voltage difference
resistance =
electric current
Thermal resistance

∆T
R=
q̇
or

∆T
q̇ =
R

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Thermal resistance representation of human body

Top: exposed skin Third: clothed skin with conductive contact

Second: clothed skin Fourth: bare skin
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Steady state (left) and transient from 28 to 4.7◦ C (right)

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Tumor detection
Thermography of skin (Agnelli et al., 2011)

Healthy tissue and tumor region in three-dimensional domain.

Temperature distribution (left), and temperature profile on the

skin surface (right).
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Limitations of Pennes’s model

Assumption: leaving temperature = tissue temperature.

Ignores
Directional dependence of perfusion heat source.
Different diameters of blood vessels (µm to mm range).
Sharply varying material properties.
Heat generation by necrosis.
Vasculature geometry.
Transvascular transport of energy and mass.

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Continuum models: Chen-Holmes

Single-temperature model
∂T ′′′
ρc = ∇ · (k∇T ) + ωρb cb (Ta − T ) − ρb cb V · ∇T + ∇ · (kp ∇T ) + q̇m
∂t
Two-temperature model
∂Ts hA
(1 − α)ρs cs = (1 − α)∇ · (ks ∇Ts ) + (Tf − Ts ) + (1 − α)q̇s′′′
∂t V
∂Tf hA
αρf cf = α∇ · (kf ∇Tf ) + (Ts − Tf ) + αq̇f′′′
∂t V

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Vasculature-based models
Weinbaum-Jiji-Lemons

dTa
ρb cb πrb2 V = −qa
ds
dTv
ρb cb πrb2 V = −qv
ds
∂T
ρc = ∇ · (k∇T ) + ngρb cb (Ta − Tv )
∂t
d
− n πrb2 ρb cb V (Ta − Tv ) + q̇m
ds
Simplified Weinbaum-Jiji
∂T
ρc = ∇ · (keff ∇T ) + q̇m
∂t ( ¡ ¢2 )
n ρb cb πrb2 V cos γ
keff = k 1 +
σ∆ k 2
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Non-Fourier heat transfer

Conservation of energy
∂T
ρc + ∇ · q̇′′ = 0
∂t
Fourier =⇒ parabolic heat conduction
∂T
q̇′′ = −k∇T =⇒ ρc = ∇ · (k∇T )
∂t
Cattaneo-Vernotte =⇒ hyperbolic heat conduction
∂ q̇′′ ∂2T ∂T
τ + q̇′′ = −k∇T =⇒ τ ρc 2
+ ρc = ∇ · (k∇T )
∂t ∂t ∂t
Dual phase lag
∂ q̇′′ ∂2T
τq + q̇′′ = −k∇T − kτT
∂t ∂t∂x
µ ¶
2
∂ T ∂T ∂2T
=⇒ τq ρc 2 + ρc = ∇ · (k∇T ) + ∇ · kτT
∂t ∂t ∂t∂x 35/ 36
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Experiments with processed meat

Mitra et al. (1995): Hyperbolic heat conduction

Antaki (2005): Dual phase lag

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