Enhancing fluid infusion via introduction and enlargement of microcracks in tumors- Theoretical simulations

Abstract

We perform theoretical simulation to evaluate the role played by a microcrack in tumors on the overall flow resistance during convection enhanced delivery (CED) of nanofluid in tumor treatment. Both Darcy’s law and theory of poroelasticity are used in the simulation to understand the fluid transport with or without microcrack introduction and/or enlargement. The results have demonstrated significantly altered pressure and velocity fields in the tumor due to introduction of the microcrack. The non-uniform fluid pressure field enlarges the cylindrical microcrack to a frustum, with a crack volume more than doubled. Due to the large permeability and porosity in the microcrack, flow from the infusion surface to the tumor periphery is much easier. The flow resistance with the enlarged microcrack is reduced by 14% from the baseline case without microcrack. We conclude that introducing a microcrack is an effective way to facilitate fluid flow in porous tumors using CED.