Development of a porous medium bioheat transfer model of human head

As part of my master’s thesis work in Indian Institute of Technology Madras, I devised and developed a bioheat and mass transfer model of the human head and sovled it using ANSYS Fluent. I modeled major arteries and veins discretely. I reduced the model complexity and improved simulation time by approximating blood flow in small blood vessels using a porous medium flow approach instead of discrete modeling. I validated the model against medical imaging data for blood flow and temperature distribution in the brain. I used the model to simulate stroke or blockage of blood flow to the brain and the resulting hyperthermia due to lack of cooling. I also modeled stroke treatments such as cooling ice cap and intracarotid cold saline injection to predict outcomes.

Outcome

• Part of my master's thesis titled "Transient porous medium bio-heat transfer modeling of hypothermia treatment in human brain under stroke"