Numerical Analysis of the Circumferential Ablation of the Duodenal Wall for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

This work presents a numerical analysis of the circumferential ablation problem of the duodenum wall for treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Recently, in the literature, an alternative treatment for Type 2 diabetes control has been reported. In this procedure, an endoscopic catheter is inserted into the duodenum through a balloon filled with a hot fluid that allows for a controlled thermal procedure. Experimental results indicate that the damaged layer induces a regulation of hyperglycemia at least for a certain amount of time. Therefore, the objective of this work is to numerically simulate this treatment considering the bioheat transfer equation in the transient form. The finite volume method is used in the discretization of the energy equation and the results are verified by exploring the same problem in a commercial finite element package. A Dirichlet boundary condition is adopted at the inner surface while a Neumann restriction is considered at the outer surface of the duodenum. The Arrhenius criterion for the evaluation of the thermally affected tissue is employed in this study. According to the simulations, this treatment can produce an irreversible thermal injury of at least 0.7 mm and up to 1.3 mm depending on the blood perfusion rate. The results here advanced suggest the region of the duodenum capable of producing new cells after the therapy is found to be between 2.0 to 3.1 mm depending on the estimate of the blood perfusion rate.