Modeling of laser-soft tissue interactions using the dual-phase lag equation: Sensitivity analysis with respect to selected tissue parameters

Thermal processes occurring in soft tissues are subjected to laser irradiation are analyzed. The transient bioheat transfer is described by the generalized dual-phase lag model. This model consists of two coupled equations concerning the tissue and blood temperatures supplemented by the appropriate boundary and initial conditions. The efficiency of the internal heat source connected to the laser irradiation results from the solution of the diffusion equation. This approach is acceptable when the scattering dominates over the absorption for wavelengths between 650 and 1300 nm, and just such a situation occurs in the case of soft tissues. Sensitivity analysis with respect to the parameters occurring in the mathematical model is done using the direct approach (differentiation of the basic equations and the boundary-initial conditions with respect to the parameter considered), especially the absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of the soft tissue are considered. At the stage of numerical modeling the basic problem and additional problems connected with the sensitivity functions are solved using the finite difference method. In the final part the conclusions and examples of computations are presented.