COMSOL Thermal Model for a Heated Neural Micro-Probe

M. Christian[1], S. Firebaugh[1], A. Smith[1]
[1]United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, USA
Published in 2012

This project utilizes the heat transfer module of the COMSOL Multiphysics environment to model the effects that an ohmic heating probe will have on neural tissue. The model quantifies the thermal impact of active components embedded on a neural micro probe by solving the Penne’s bioheat equation with an external MATLAB function to determine the heat generation along the length of the probe. The resulting model can be used as design tool for developing novel neural probes that include light and heat sources and active cooling. In order to demonstrate this utility an ohmic heating probe is designed for a particular temperature excursion. The ohmic heating probe will be fabricated and used in subsequent experiments to validate the computational model.