3D-Visualised Model of Temperature Distribution in the Brain for Investigation of Brain Cooling Effect

SUMMARY Brain hypothermia requires control of its temperature within an appropriate range, considering the change of body temperature over a long period. Various mathematical models have been used for the study of control and cooling capability of brain temperature in hypothermia. In previous models, a lumped-parameter hemisphere of uniform temperature has been assumed as a simplified brain model without considering the temperature distribution. In the present study, however, a new model is proposed to visualize the temperature distribution in the brain. The model has the approximate shape of the organs in the head based on MRI data, and may well reflect properties such as heat transfer coefficients, metabolic heat production, and heat capacity of human organs. The model has a pseudo-blood-flow component in which any temperature can be set as the initial value at the starting place of blood flow. Simulations using this model were performed with the temperature controlled by the introduction of Ringer's solution into any of the four arteries leading to the brain. The simulation results suggest that the various cooling effects are manifested in every region of brain, and that the temperature distribution can be known for applications to controlling brain temperature in a part of interest.