Electromagnetics Solvers for Tissues/Devices

Background

The analysis of external and endogenous sources of electromagnetic fields is numerically demanding due to the typically complex (hundreds of different and intricately shaped dielectrics) and multi-scale (e.g., complex implant requiring micrometer resolution, embedded in an inhomogeneous human body and surrounded by a large electrical resonator) nature of the problems. Incorporating micrometer resolution within a complex multimeter environment is a challenging task. Moreover, today's simulation challenges encompass frequencies ranging from DC to THz, addressing applications such as WPT, In-/On-Body Communication, MR & Implant Safety, EM-Neuron Stimulation, etc. - demanding for dedicated and robust solvers and methodologies.

IT'IS has developed the most effective solvers and toolsets currently available for predicting and analyzing the interaction mechanisms of electromagnetic fields within complex environments and for analyzing and designing highly complex devices and applications. The electromagnetics solvers smoothly interact with the the Virtual Population ViP V3-x Models, providing a realistic biological and anatomical environment for conducting fundamental mechanistic studies, testing the effectiveness and safety of medical devices and treatments, and supplementing clinical trials.

Selected Past Achievements

• Developed the most effective solvers and toolsets for EM simulations in complex environments (FDTD & low frequencies).
• Applied the new solvers and novel toolsets for efficiently simulating complex implants inside the full human body. In addition, developed a comprehensive risk assessment methodology, to determine the specific conditions that would permit an MRI examination for implant-bearing patients.
• Smooth integration of the widely employed NEURON model, allowing for coupled simulations of EM-induced neuronal activation, moreover, existing neuron dynamics models from the NEURON database can be easily incorporated.
• Developed and applied novel low-frequency EM solvers and tools for designing and optimizing Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) systems and suggesting standardized procedures for assessing the exposure of WPT systems and demonstrating compliance with the exposure guidelines.
• Developed novel and highly effective EM-FDTD local refinement techniques which enable the simulation and optimization of complex In-/On-Body Communication scenarios, featuring micrometer structures embedded within multi-meter environments.
• As being the most frequently applied solvers in near-field dosimetry, all the solvers have been extensively verified and documented according to the IEEE/IEC 62704-1 standard as well as validated by comparisons with measured data (> 200 publications).

Next Challenges

• To further improve overcoming the gap between very small structures embedded within large domains, in addition to the local refinement schemes and the Generalized Huygens approach.
• To develop an approach to bridge classic and quantum electromagnetics in biology, i.e., performing simulations of processes within cells or nuclei.
• To complete the family of low-frequency solvers with new unstructured FEM based approaches.
• To continuously extend the functionalization of the Computable Phantoms (ViP V3-x), e.g., towards integrating complex models of DBS-activated neurons into high-resolution head models.