A coupled dual reciprocity BEM/genetic algorithm for identification of blood perfusion parameters
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 9 January 2009
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an inverse analysis procedure based on a coupled numerical formulation through which the coefficients describing non‐linear thermal properties of blood perfusion may be identified.
Design/methodology/approach
The coupled numerical technique involves a combination of the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) and a genetic algorithm (GA) for the solution of the Pennes bioheat equation. Both linear and quadratic temperature‐dependent variations are considered for the blood perfusion.
Findings
The proposed DRBEM formulation requires no internal discretisation and, in this case, no internal nodes either, apart from those defining the interface tissue/tumour. It is seen that the skin temperature variation changes as the blood perfusion increases, and in certain cases flat or nearly flat curves are produced. The proposed algorithm has difficulty to identify the perfusion parameters in these cases, although a more advanced genetic algorithm may provide improved results.
Practical implications
The coupled technique allows accurate inverse solutions of the Pennes bioheat equation for quantitative diagnostics on the physiological conditions of biological bodies and for optimisation of hyperthermia for cancer therapy.
Originality/value
The proposed technique can be used to guide hyperthermia cancer treatment, which normally involves heating tissue to 42‐43°C. When heated up to this range of temperatures, the blood flow in normal tissues, e.g. skin and muscle, increases significantly, while blood flow in the tumour zone decreases. Therefore, the consideration of temperature‐dependent blood perfusion in this case is not only essential for the correct modelling of the problem, but also should provide larger skin temperature variations, making the identification problem easier.
Keywords
Citation
Partridge, P.W. and Wrobel, L.C. (2009), "A coupled dual reciprocity BEM/genetic algorithm for identification of blood perfusion parameters", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 25-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615530910922134
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited