th

THE 8 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED TOPICS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

May 23-25, 2013
Bucharest, Romania

Numerical Simulation of an Adaptive Magnetic

Field Source in Magnetic Drug Targeted Transport
A.M. Morega1,2, Senior Member, IEEE, C. Savastru1, and M. Morega1, Member, IEEE
1
University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bucharest, ROMANIA
2
“Gheorghe Mihoc – Caius Iacob” Institute of Statistical Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Romanian Academy
amm@iem.pub.ro, savastru_cristina@yahoo.com, mihaela@iem.pub.ro

Abstract—While the magnetic field source used in magnetic source is a planar spiral coil (PSC). Simpler, 2D models and
drug targeting (MDT) therapy is usually a permanent magnet, then more realistic, 3D models obtained by medical image-
planar spiral coils (PSC) prove to be equally effective. When
properly designed, PSC may provide high magnetic field based reconstruction aim to outline the underlying physical
gradient configurations that result in larger magnetic body phenomena in the MDT therapy. Based on these, design and
forces. To limit unwanted, side effects that may occur, e.g. the control suggestions for optimizing the PSC while reducing
overheating of the adjacent tissue, PSCs may be powered either the unwanted accompanying heating are made.
continuously or intermittently, and this makes the object of this
work, where 2D numerical models are used to evaluate the heat II. THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL
transfer problem for different powering schemes, and 3D
modeling is then utilized for a more realistic analysis.
A. The Magnetic Field Problem
The magnetic field produced by the electrical current
Keywords: Magnetic drug targeting, hemodynamic flow – carrying PSC is assumed stationary at the time scale of the
magnetic field interaction, heat transfer, planar spiral coil,
mathematical modeling, numerical simulation.
hemodynamic process, described by [9-11]
magnetic circuit law
I. INTRODUCTION ∇ × H = J, (1)
The necessity to treat possible malfunctions in organism magnetic flux law
such as stenosis, thrombosis, tumoral entities, encourages ∇ ⋅ B = 0, (2)
researchers to continue devoting efforts to find less invasive constitutive law
€
procedures and solutions in this area. Yet, few intrusive
therapies succeed without unwanted harm. Among modern
B = µ0 H , (for the air, the coil, and the tissue) (3)
€
therapies of current concern magnetic drug targeting (MDT)
may play a significant role [1-3]. External magnetic fields are
[ ]
B = µ0 H + M ff ( H) , (for the magnetic fluid) (4)
Faraday’s law
used in MDT for external control of inner body action. High €
gradient external magnetic fields trigger inner forces, able to ∇ × E = ∇( u × B) , (5)
direct the medication to precise regions inside the body, € electrical conduction law
intended to destroy the affected tissues only, while avoiding J = σE, (6)
the spreading of toxic drug to unharmed cells. Typically,
MDT aims to guide the medication carried by super- Here H [A/m] € is magnetic field strength, B [T] magnetic flux
paramagnetic nanoparticles (SPN) through the arterial tree to density, µ 0 = 4π×10-7 [H/m] magnetic permeability of air,
the region of interest (ROI), where magnetic forces act to fix M [A/m] magnetization, € 2
u [m/s] velocity, σ [S/m] electrical
(target) the drug and help delivering the medication [4-7]. conductivity, and J [A/m ] electrical current density.
The experiments concerning MDT may have to pass first a The blood-and-drug aggregate is assumed homogeneous,
modeling stage that is suitable, accurate, and convenient to isotropic, and its magnetization Mff(H) [A/m] may be
visualize, observe and characterize the interactions involved conveniently approximated by the analytic formula
in this complex process. Realistic computational domains M ff = γ arctan( δH ) , (7)
based on imagistic reconstruction may be required, beyond a where γ [A/m] and δ [m/A] are empiric constants [8-10].
certain point, for numeric simulations [8]. It is useful to use the magnetic vector potential, A [Wb/m],
1
The magnetic field source and its optimization are key defined by B = ∇ × A , which yields
€
issues in the MDT [9]. More recently it was suggested that
current coils could be used instead of permanent magnets
(
-1
)
∇ × µ 0 ∇ × A − M - σu × (∇ × A) = J e , (8)
e 2
where J [A/m ] is the external electrical current density (the
[10]. The coils may be designed and their control tailored to source, in the PSC). The condition that closes the problem is
€
meet specific needs. However, it was recognized that the magnetic insulation, n × A = 0 2, allover the boundary.
heating effect that accompany the electrical currents might be €
a menace, and ways to reduce it should be find.
This paper presents mathematical models and numerical 1
Coulomb gauge€ condition, ∇ ⋅ A = 0 , is associated to this model.
simulation results for the MDT when the magnetic field 2 n is the outward pointing normal the computational domain boundary.

€
 At this point it is interesting to evaluate eq. (8) and decide
if the transport term is worth considering. To do this, first,
several reference quantities (scales) are identified: J0 ~ A
106 A/m2 (electrical current density scale), L ~ 0.1 m (length
scale), H0 ~ J0L (magnetic field strength scale), A0 ~ µ0LH0
(magnetic vector potential scale), M0 ~ γδH0 (magnetization C
scale), U0 ~ 0.1 m/s (velocity scale). Using these scales, eq.
(8) yields the following balance D
B
A0 M0
2
, , σµ0U 0 LJ0 ~ J0 , (9)
µ0 L L
which, yields the order of magnitude balance

€
O(1 ) , O(1 ) , O 10-7 ( )
~ O(1 ) . (10) Fig. 1. Velocity profile at the inlet, one period.
Here O(⋅) means “order of magnitude”. Apparently, the
transport term (the third in the LHS) is much smaller than the
others,
€ and may be then safely discarded. This result leads to
a significant reduction in the numerical effort since the
magnetic field problem may now be solved independently of
the flow, only once, in the beginning.
B. The Hemodynamic Problem
The arterial segment of concern in this study is of
“resistive” type [8], [14] therefore the rheological model of
the aggregate fluid may be assumed Newtonian. The blood-
and-drug pulsatile flow may be treated as quasi-steady, Fig. 2. Pressure profile at the outlet, one period.
incompressible, laminar, described by [8-10]
the momentum balance (Navier-Stokes) III. NUMERICAL SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
⎡ ∂u ⎤ ⎡ ⎛ T ⎞⎤
ρ⎢ ( ) ( )
+ u ⋅ ∇ u ⎥ = −∇ ⎢ − pI + η⎜ ∇u + ∇u ⎟ ⎥ + f mg , (11) An unexplored optimization venue is to divide the PSC into
⎣ ∂t ⎦ ⎣ ⎝ ⎠⎦
several smaller units and to time-sequence the electrical
the mass conservation law currents to provide for a magnetic field of higher gradient.
∇ ⋅ u = 0, (12) A. A Simpler, 2D Model of the PSC Magnetic Field Source
€ 3
where f mg = µ 0 ( M ⋅ ∇) H [N/m ] is the magnetic force, p [Pa] A simpler, 2D companion model (Fig. 3) is useful in
3 finding an optimal design [10].
pressure field, ρ [kg/m ] mass density, η [Pa·s] dynamic
T
viscosity, I unity matrix, and (⋅) transposition operator.
€
The boundary conditions that close the problem are: no-slip
€ at the vessel walls, uniform periodic velocity profile for the
inlet (Fig. 1), and uniform periodic pressure profile for the Air
outlet (Fig. 2). The equivalent pulse rate is 60 bpm, for
numerical simulations convenience. The morphologies and Tissue, skin Planar spiral coil
significance of these profiles are described in [12].
C. The Heat Transfer Problem
Flow
The electrical current inside the PSC is accompanied by the
Joule effect that may be a menace for the adjacent tissue, and Blood and drug
Vessel walls
has to be evaluated. Here we use the energy equation [10]
Tissue, substrate
⎡ ∂T ⎤
ρc P ⎢ + ( u ⋅ ∇)T ⎥ = ∇( k∇T ) + Q , (13) Fig. 3. The 2D computational domain.
⎣ ∂t ⎦
where T [K] is temperature, cP [J/kg·K] specific heat at We depart from the circular cross-section turns and use
constant pressure, k [W/m·K] heat conductivity, and conductors of rectangular cross-section, but of the same are.
Q [W/m3] the heat source (Joule effect) inside the coil. We assume that the planar coil is made of concentric turns.
€ Here we present a source that produces higher magnetic
The mathematical models (8), (11), (12) and (13) are
solved numerically by the finite element method (FEM) [13]. forces for a specific PSC, but more extensive studies may be
We solve for the magnetic field, first, and then for the flow required because parameters other than the intermittent
and the heat transfer problems at one time. powering may be found, e.g. the geometric aspect ratio of the
PSC rectangular conductor, the spacing between turns, etc.
Fig. 4 shows the magnetic forces integrated along the upper
side of the vessel wall closer to the PSC, in the stream
direction (Ox) and perpendicular to the flow direction, for
several PSC splitting solutions. The grey colored rectangles
indicate the currents towards the drawing while the white
rectangles the currents from the drawing. In general, the Oy
component exhibits maximum values about the PSC axis,
while the Ox component reaches maximum values at the PSC
lateral margins. The PSC splitting (a) provides larger forces.
This scheme is used throughout the study.
a. Ox component of the magnetic force integrated along the upper outline
of the blood vessel wall.
b. Oy component of the magnetic force integrated along the upper outline
of the blood vessle wall.
Fig. 4. The magnetization body forces along the upper part of the wall.
The heat transfer problem was solved using simpler, 2D
models. As intermittent powering reduces the tissue excessive
heating and as fixation is effective in the slower flow rate
phase of the pulsatile flow, we conjecture that a further
reduction in the tissue overheating, without affecting the drug
fixation, may be obtained by adapting the PSC powering to
the flow, namely to the time intervals of negative flow rate
slopes (Fig. 1) rather than the entire interval of negative slope
of the pressure profile (Fig. 2). Fig. 5 shows the temperature
profiles for continuous powering, intermittent powering
(synchronized with the pulse, Fig. 3), and intermittent
powering synchronized with the negative slopes of the flow
rate (A-B, C-D, Fig. 1). This strategy, proposed for the first
time here, while more difficult to implement is optimal since
it results in as long as possible times of exposure to the
therapy, with acceptable temperature levels. It should be
noted that the same moments for the on/off PSC switching
might be set against the pressure profile, more convenient
from technical point of view. Fig. 6 show the convection heat
transfer by the blood stream.
Fig. 5. Temperature profiles for different powering strategies.
a. Maximum flow rate, t = 59.2 s (moment A, Fig. 1).
a. Minimum flow rate, t = 59.5 s (moment B, Fig. 1).
Fig. 6. Heat entrained by the flow shown through isotherm profiles.
Next, a more realistic 3D model based on a computational
domain obtained by reconstruction out of medical images is
presented. To reduce the complexity of the problem, we
assume that the planar coil is made of concentric turns, and it
is thermally insulated against the environment.
B. A Medical Images Based Computational Domain
The imagistic reconstruction was performed using [15].
Starting from a DICOM3 MRI data set of an arterial system,
the extraction of a blood vessel using the segmentation
process is first performed. This stage involves threshold and
floodfill filtering. The segmentation process (ScanIP) requires
particular attention in order to eliminate artifacts. The first
step is to locate the ROI in the dataset by selecting the artery
of interest and separating it from the entire structure through
smoothing techniques – recursive gaussian and floodfill
3
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is NEMA
standard and ISO standard 12052:2006, http://dabsoft.ch/dicom/index.html.
filters (Fig. 7,a). Because the natural shape of the vessel is
irregular some adjustments are needed (erode, dilate, fill,
smooth, Fig. 7,b). The blood vessel is then exported to
ScanCad to be embedded in the tissue volume. The resulting
mask is updated back in ScanIP, and rescaled (Fig. 7,c). The
+Fe algorithm results in a massive reduction of elements, and
the model may be exported for FEM modeling, e.g., [13].
a. b. c.
Fig. 7. Phases of imagistic reconstruction of the arterial blood vessel.
C. A More Realistic 3D Model for MDT
The 3D modeling evidences effects that a 2D model may
not describe, for instance those related to the curvature of the
PSC turns and to the real shape of the blood vessels. It is then
important to see to what extent the 2D results are still valid.
Fig. 8. Blood flow and temperature at t = 32 s, at the end of a negative
slope interval. Intermittent powering – pressure (surface color map, the
blood vessel wall), temperature (surface color map, the computational
domain), and flow (streamlines, color proportional to temperature).
Fig. 9. Heat flux (arrows, color proportional to temperature) and stream
tubes (color proportional to pressure) at t = 23 s..
Fig. 8 shows the arterial flow and the temperature on the
surface. Fig. 9 shows the heat released by the PSC (arrows)
and the flow (streamtubes).
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The mathematical modeling and numerical simulation
results confirm that a planar spiral coil (PSC) may be an
effective candidate to replacing the MDT magnet. Optimal
PSC powering scheme may produce higher gradient magnetic
fields. Other parameters (e.g., the geometric aspect ratio of
the conductor, the spacing between turns, etc.) make the
object of future research. PSC heating can be diminished
through the on/off powering. One option is to synchronize
with the blood flow rate and power the coil during intervals
of negative slope.
Finally, bidimensional models are useful in sizing the
procedure although they may be less accurate in outlining the
MDT underlying physical details.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The work was conducted in the Laboratory for Electrical
Engineering in Medicine, affiliated with the BIONGTEH
platform at UPB.
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