Modelling of ultrasound therapeutic heating and numerical study of the dynamics of the induced heat shock response

In this presentation we consider hyperthermia, a procedure of raising the temperature above 43 °C, as a treatment modality. To this purpose, a numerical model of in vivo soft tissue ultrasound heating is proposed by extending a previously presented in vitro model. Based on the numerical simulations, a heating scheme satisfying some constraints related to potential clinical applications is established, and the resulting temperature time-course profile is composed with the temperature-dependent protein denaturation formula of a recently published mathematical model for the eukaryotic heat shock response. The obtained simulation results of the combined models are discussed in view of potential application of ultrasound soft tissue heating in clinical treatment.