The outcome of thermal therapies ultimately depends on tissue temperature, which can vary heavily depending on the thermal properties of the patient. Patient size and body composition can drastically affect the heat transfer within the body. We have worked with our collaborators to develop models that optimize thermal power deposition by analyzing the effects of variance in thermal properties and geometry. This enables us to better quantify the uncertainty associated with thermal therapy and make more robust temperature predictions. 

One of the main challenges with thermal therapies for cancer treatment (e.g., hyperthermia, ablation, cryoablation) is reliable and accurate treatment planning, where the treatment is simulated prior to the procedure. This generally takes the form of computational thermal simulations, where patient information, such as geometry and material properties, is used to estimate the expected intratumor temperature. One of our lab's goals is to create computational tools that allow clinicians to uniformly heat the tumor to the prescribed thermal dose, prevent unwanted temperature excursions into the surrounding tissue, and reduce operator error.  

Much of the research in the thermal therapy space is the development of new devices. Engineers work together with clinicians to create equipment that more effectively delivers thermal energy to the treatment site, while minimizing off-target heating. Traditionally, the validation of these devices is performed with animal models, which have their own pros and cons. Our lab plans to work with both academic and industry collaborators to create new thermal therapy instruments and devices and validate them using state-of-the-art tissue phantoms that accurately mimic the body's natural thermoregulation.