Model predictive control of ultrasound hyperthermia treatments of cancer

A model predictive controller (MPC) of the thermal dose in hyperthermia cancer treatments has been developed and evaluated using simulations with one-point and one-dimensional models of a tumor. The developed controller is the first effort in (a) the application of feedback control to pulsed, high temperature hyperthermia treatments, (b) the direct control of the treatment thermal dose rather than the treatment temperatures, and (c) the application of MPC to hyperthermia treatments. Simulations were performed with different blood flow rates in the tumor and constraints on temperatures in normal tissues. The results demonstrate that (a) thermal dose can be controlled in the presence of plant-model mismatch, (b) constraints on the maximum allowable temperatures in normal tissue and/or the pulsed power magnitude can be directly incorporated into MPC and met while delivering the desired thermal dose to the tumor.