Hyperthermia of the prostate from a heat transfer point of view

The finite element method is used to analyse the heat transfer at hyperthermia treatment of the prostate. The microwave antenna is enclosed in a water cooled intra urethral catheter. The purpose of this study is modeling and simulation of the temperature field during local microwave hyperthermal treatment of the prostate. Numerical calculations of the temperature field and the heat flux are necessary in order to get better knowledge of possibilities and restrictions of the method. The influence on the treatment from an incorrect location of the antenna has been studied. The location of the antenna is essential for a successful treatment. The effect of possible phase change processes associated with the heating is included in the analysis. A phase transition has a significant influence on the shape and the propagation speed of the temperature field. For the combination of microwave heating of the tissue and heat transfer from it there exists a transition zone of finite size instead of a transition front