3D Computational Modeling of the Vascular Heat-Sink Effect in Microwave Ablation of Tumors Close to the Aorta
Abstract
Microwave ablation (MWA) is a percutaneous ablation that induces thermal necrosis by generating localized high-temperature regions within tumor tissue. However, when a tumor is located close to a large vessel such as the aorta, blood flow continuously removes heat from the ablation zone. This phenomenon causes the vascular heat-sink effect and thereby increases the risk of incomplete ablation. This study constructs an ANSYS-based numerical framework to investigate the heat-sink effect during MWA of tumors located close to the aorta. The computational model consists of the tumor, surrounding tissue, vessel wall, blood flow domain, and microwave antenna. Microwave-induced heating was represented by an equivalent heat source mapped from the High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS)-derived volume loss density, rather than by direct electromagnetic-thermal coupling within the thermal-fluid solver. Two parametric studies were performed to quantify the heat-sink effect. First, the tumor-aorta distance was varied at D = 0 mm, 4 mm, and 8.5 mm to assess how vessel proximity affects temperature elevation and ablation zone formation. Second, at each tumor-aorta distance, three blood-flow conditions were compared: no blood, stagnant blood V = 0 m/s, and normal aortic blood flow V=0.65 m/s. This comparison enabled the heat-sink effect of blood flow to be independently evaluated. The results highlight the clinical need for simulation-based treatment planning in patients with tumors located close to major vessels.
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BibTeX
@misc{kim2026computational,
title = {{3D Computational Modeling of the Vascular Heat-Sink Effect in Microwave Ablation of Tumors Close to the Aorta}},
author = {Youjin Kim and Kyungho Yoon and Minwoo Shin},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.12407},
eprint = {2609.12407},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12407},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - 3D Computational Modeling of the Vascular Heat-Sink Effect in Microwave Ablation of Tumors Close to the Aorta
AU - Youjin Kim
AU - Kyungho Yoon
AU - Minwoo Shin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.12407
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12407
AB - Microwave ablation (MWA) is a percutaneous ablation that induces thermal necrosis by generating localized high-temperature regions within tumor tissue. However, when a tumor is located close to a large vessel such as the aorta, blood flow continuously removes heat from the ablation zone. This phenomenon causes the vascular heat-sink effect and thereby increases the risk of incomplete ablation. This study constructs an ANSYS-based numerical framework to investigate the heat-sink effect during MWA of tumors located close to the aorta. The computational model consists of the tumor, surrounding tissue, vessel wall, blood flow domain, and microwave antenna. Microwave-induced heating was represented by an equivalent heat source mapped from the High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS)-derived volume loss density, rather than by direct electromagnetic-thermal coupling within the thermal-fluid solver. Two parametric studies were performed to quantify the heat-sink effect. First, the tumor-aorta distance was varied at D = 0 mm, 4 mm, and 8.5 mm to assess how vessel proximity affects temperature elevation and ablation zone formation. Second, at each tumor-aorta distance, three blood-flow conditions were compared: no blood, stagnant blood V = 0 m/s, and normal aortic blood flow V=0.65 m/s. This comparison enabled the heat-sink effect of blood flow to be independently evaluated. The results highlight the clinical need for simulation-based treatment planning in patients with tumors located close to major vessels.
ER -