Computational analysis of the effect of superparamagnetic nanoparticle properties on bioheat transfer in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia

Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia is an alternative cancer treatment where magnetic nanoparticles are delivered to the tumor. The magnetization response due to an alternating magnetic field causes the magnetic nanoparticles to act as a heating power source and thermally damage the tumor cells. The heating capability of magnetic nanoparticles depends on their relaxation losses and thus on their material properties. Heat transfer in biological tissues on the other hand depends on the material properties of the biological tissue, as well as the spatial distribution of the magnetic nanoparticles. This paper presents an efficient numerical calculation method for assessing the temperature distribution in biological tissue when considering magnetic nanoparticles and biological tissues with specified material properties. We firstly investigate the effect of polydisperse magnetite and maghemite magnetic nanoparticles distributions on the temperature. We furthermore study the influence of the spatial spread of the magnetic nanoparticles inside the tumor on the temperature distribution and the associated thermal damage. The proposed numerical methodology is able to predict temperature elevations in biological tissues due to magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia and can constitute an important component for model-based optimization of magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia.