Numerical Simulation of Transducer-Tipped Ultrasound Catheter for Necrosis of Blood Clot through Coronary Artery

Abstract

Therapeutic ultrasound has been established as a targeted therapy treatment method. Nonlinear propagation of acoustic waves heats up the tissue especially in the region close to the ultrasound source. Intravascular Ultrasound uses thermal aspect of acoustic wave in the catheter size, in order to break down the blood clot tissue or plaque. A numerical method is conducted on three-dimensional model of the coronary artery partially blocked with a clot. The numerical simulation is developed to give a proper estimation of the temperature field through the coronary artery after implantation of the ultrasound catheter-assisted device. The wave propagates with the frequency of 1MHz and initial transducer pressure of 0.24MPa. Exposure of intravascular ultrasound leads to temperature rise of 1.54 °C during 100 seconds in the clot areas. Moreover, results show that by increasing the frequency of the transducer and the exposure time, the temperature rise could be increased.