Objective: High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a new noninvasive therapeutics that allows local treatment of solid tumors through a hyperthermal mechanism using ultrasonic energy. One promising strategy to increase the thermal efficiency of HIFU is to employ nanoparticles (NPs) as ultrasound agents for the hyperthermia procedure. However, the interaction mechanism between NPs and ultrasonic waves has not been well understood.
Methods: In an effort to investigate the heating process of NPs-enhanced HIFU, we derived a set of HIFU equations governing the temperature variation during the thermal ablation based on the principle of conservation of energy for heat transfer mechanism. A numerical model was developed to solve the HIFU equations to simulate the absorption mechanism of HIFU in the presence of NPs, the consequent heat transfer process, and the temperature rise profile during the sonication period. The accuracy of numerical model was verified by performing a series of experiments on tissue-mimicking phantoms embedded with magnetic NPs (MNPs).
Results: The transport processes taking place at the boundaries between NPs and surrounding medium played the major role in the temperature rise during HIFU sonication. Besides, the effects of MNPs on rising temperature were improved by amplifying the ultrasonic power and frequency as well as by increasing the MNP concentration.
Conclusion: A quantitative comparison with experimental results demonstrated the potential of the numerical model to accurately predict the heating mechanism of HIFU mediated by NPs.
Significance: The proposed method can help with simulation of HIFU when NPs are employed as ultrasound agents.