Optimization and fast estimation of vessel cooling for RF ablation

Abstract

In this work, we present a three-dimensional (3D) model for the optimization of the probe placement in radio-frequency ablation (RFA). The model is based on a system of partial differential equations (PDEs) that describe the electric potential of the tissue and the steady state of the heat which is induced into the tissue. The PDE system is solved by a finite element approach and the optimization is performed by minimizing a temperature based objective functional under the constraining PDE systems. A well-known difficulty associated with RFA is the cooling influence of large blood vessels on the ablation result. A method is discussed, which efficiently estimates the cooling effect of those vessels, based on a precalculation of all patient-independent data and tabulation of the results.