Fast, Anatomy and Physiology Based Computational Tool for RF-Induced Thermal Response

ABSTRACT: Military and industrial personnel are often exposed to RF electromagnetic energy which can cause thermal and electrokinetic biological effects. To understand these effects, AFRL is using computational tools to predict RF energy deposition and thermal effects in humans. Unfortunately, high resolution thermal simulations are computationally very expensive. The goal of this project is to develop fast anatomy- and physiology-based computational tools for predicting whole-body and localized thermal response of tissue due to RF exposure. We will develop a direct interface between AFRL anatomical models and electromagnetic solvers and CFDRC thermal, blood and tissue/organ models. To improve computational speed, GPUs will be used to accelerate linear solvers and Octree Cartesian mesh adaptation will be used to reduce computational size. The thermal solver will be linked to a multicompartmental model of systemic blood circulation, tissue perfusion and heat transport. The prototype software will be demonstrated on a human body model subject to RF exposures for less than 60 sec turnaround time on a PC. In Phase II, we will develop a GUI for model setup, run control & visualization. The thermal model will be extended to simulate effects of clothing, environment, autoregulation and to model physiological effects of RF exposure. BENEFIT: The integrated CEM-Thermal-Physiology modeling tools will be used by engineers and health physicists to study risks of accidental and job duty RF exposure, to design active denial systems, non lethal weapons and novel directed energy systems. The same tools will have immense civilian applications such as more powerful medical imaging and diagnostics, better hyperthermia cancer treatment, laser and cryosurgery, therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac and stroke conditions, thermal comfort analysis, transcranial E-M stimulation, and others.