A Multiphysic Model for the Hyperthermia Treatment of Residual Osteosarcoma Cells in Upper Limbs Using Magnetic Scaffolds

To avoid high recurrence rate, the hyperthermia treatment (HT) of bone tumors after surgical intervention was investigated. Innovative magnetic biomaterials can be used as thermoseeds to perform local thermal therapy. This work copes with the multiphysic modeling of the HT of residual Osteosarcoma (OS) cells using the so-called magnetic scaffolds. The goal is to develop a model that can serve as a tool to plan an accurate, safe, and high-quality treatment. Therefore, the electromagneto-thermal problem of radio-frequency heating is solved to determine the spatial and temporal evolution of the temperature field in a simplified 2-D geometry of proximal humerus. Different assumptions about the nonuniformity of the external magnetic field are verified. The possibility of nonideal distribution of magnetic nanoparticles in the biomaterial is accounted for the first time. The pattern of the magnetic field and of the induced electric field is studied. Moreover, the spatio-temporal evolution of temperature is investigated in the different cases. With these improvements to the state-of-the-art model of the HT of bone tumors, it was possible to identify the field parameter which allows to deliver the therapeutic thermal dose to OS cells.