Computational modelling of thermochemical processes during thermochemical ablation in biological tissue

Thermochemical ablation (TCA) is a minimally invasive cancer treatment that utilises exothermic heat when chemical reagents are intratumorally injected to raise tissue temperature to tumoricidal temperature to induce irreversible thermal damage, hence destroying cancerous tissue. Limitations of existing TCA studies hinder the understanding of treatment efficacy and safety. These limitations include the inability to visualise reagent flow in biological tissue, map tissue temperature, and quantify thermal damage. TCA carries inherent risk of uncontrolled reagent flow, causing chemical burns to nearby normal tissue, systemic toxicity, and inadequate tissue ablation. This research project aims to investigate species transport, acid-base neutralisation, tissue temperature and thermal damage in TCA using computational modelling to establish a safer and more effective protocol.