The efficiency of ultrasound hyperthermia for anti-cancer treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy can be improved by using sonosensitizers, which are materials that enhance the attenuation and dissipation of acoustic energy. We propose the use of magnetic nanoparticles as sonosensitizers because of their biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and common use in several medical applications. A magnetic material was synthetized and then incorporated in the form of a magnetic fluid in agar tissue-mimicking phantoms. Ultrasound hyperthermia studies were conducted at various ultrasound frequencies and concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles in the phantoms. The theoretical modeling based on a heat transfer equation and the experimental results show good agreement and confirm that the temperature rise during ultrasound heating in tissue-mimicking phantoms doped with sonosensitizers is greater than that in a pure agar phantom. Furthermore, on the basis of Pennes' bio-heat equation, which takes into consideration the blood perfusion and metabolic heat, the thermal dose and lesion shapes after sonication were determined for a hypothetical tissue.
Keywords: anti-cancer treatment; biomaterials; biomedicine; magnetic nanoparticles; sonosensitizers; ultrasound hyperthermia.