Modeling and in vivo experimental validation of 1,064 nm laser interstitial thermal therapy on brain tissue

Peng Cao; Dingsheng Shi; Ding Li; Zhoule Zhu; Junming Zhu; Jianmin Zhang; Ruiliang Bai

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1237394

Modeling and in vivo experimental validation of 1,064 nm laser interstitial thermal therapy on brain tissue

Front Neurol. 2023 Oct 6:14:1237394. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1237394. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Peng Cao¹, Dingsheng Shi², Ding Li², Zhoule Zhu^{1

3}, Junming Zhu^{1

3}, Jianmin Zhang^{1

3}, Ruiliang Bai^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
² Research and Development Department, Hangzhou GenLight MedTech Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
³ Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
⁴ Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
⁵ MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) at 1064 nm is widely used to treat epilepsy and brain tumors; however, no numerical model exists that can predict the ablation region with careful in vivo validation.

Methods: In this study, we proposed a model with a system of finite element methods simulating heat transfer inside the brain tissue, radiative transfer from the applicator into the brain tissue, and a model for tissue damage.

Results: To speed up the computation for practical applications, we also validated P1-approximation as an efficient and fast method for calculating radiative transfer by comparing it with Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, we validated the proposed numerical model in vivo on six healthy canines and eight human patients with epilepsy and found strong agreement between the predicted temperature profile and ablation area and the magnetic resonance imaging-measured results.

Discussion: Our results demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the model in predicting the ablation area of 1,064 nm LITT, which is important for presurgical planning when using LITT.

Keywords: bioheat transfer; laser ablation; laser interstitial thermal therapy; simulation; thermal damage.