Theory for Bioheat Transfer

The Bioheat Transfer Interface solves for the bioheat equation using Pennes’ approximation (Ref. 6). This is used to model heat transfer within biological tissue. It accounts for heat sources from blood perfusion and metabolism in the classical heat transfer equation:

(4-37)

The different quantities involved here are recalled below:

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ρ is the density of the tissue (SI unit: kg/m3)

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Cp is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure of the tissue (SI unit: J/(kg·K))

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T is the absolute temperature of the tissue (SI unit: K)

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q is the heat flux by conduction in the tissue (SI unit: W/m2)

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ρb is the blood density (SI unit: kg/m3)

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Cp, b is the blood specific heat capacity at constant pressure (SI unit: J/(kg·K))

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ωb is the blood perfusion rate (SI unit: 1/s)

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Tb is the arterial blood temperature (SI unit: K)

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Qmet is the metabolic heat source (SI unit: W/m3)

For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time and the terms with time derivatives disappear.


	There are specific predefined materials available in the Bioheat material database. See Materials Overview and Bioheat Materials Library in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.