Optimizing Performance of Equipment for Thermostimulation of Muscle Tissue using COMSOL Multiphysics

J. Kocbach[1], K. Folgerø[1], L. Mohn[2], O. Brix[3]
[1]Christian Michelsen Research, Bergen, Norway
[2]Luzmon Norway, Bergen, Norway
[3]Michelsen Medical, Bergen, Norway
Published in 2012

The design challenge for thermostimulation equipment is to get a combination of high electric field strength and high temperature within the muscle tissue without causing pain or skin burns. In the present work, COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the temperature distribution and electric field distribution within body tissue for varying body composition and varying design parameters of the thermostimulation equipment. COMSOL LiveLink™ for MATLAB® is used in order to do script based parametric analysis, sensitivity analysis and iterative optimization from MATLAB®. The present work has shown how the multiphysics approach gives information regarding design choices for thermostimulation equipment, and relative effectiveness of thermostimulation equipment for patients with different body composition.