Finite Element Analysis for Temperature Distribution of Breast

A multi-dimension comprehensive thermal model is presented to simulate the steady temperature distribution of breast, which is based on the breast anatomical structure and physiological characteristics. This model takes the metabolic heat generation, blood perfusion and vascular thermal interaction into account. Finite element analysis method is used to solve the heat diffusion equation. The simulated results show that the temperature profiles of breast can be significantly affected by the metabolic heat generation and blood perfusion. Furthermore, the temperature distribution of abnormal breast with tumor is also discussed. The results seem very valuable in the interpretation of thermograms.