This article examines lesion formation using focused ultrasound and de
monstrates how blood flow may affect lesion dimensions using a theoret
ical model. The effects of blood flow on temperature distributions dur
ing ultrasonic lesioning are examined for both regional cooling by the
microvasculature and localized cooling due to thermally significant v
essels. Regional cooling was critically assessed using two models: the
Pennes bioheat transfer equation and the scalar effective thermal con
ductivity equation. Localized cooling was modeled by adding an advecti
ve term in the heat diffusion equation in regions enclosed by thermall
y significant vessels. A finite difference approach was used to solve
the basic equations of heat transfer in perfused tissues in cylindrica
l coordinates. The extent of the lesioned tissue was determined by the
accumulated thermal dose at each location. The size of the lesion was
then calculated from the boundaries of the thermal isodose curves gen
erated by the simulations. The results were compared to published in v
ivo lesion data in rat liver. It was shown that even for short ultraso
und exposure times (similar to 8 s), blood flow may play an important
role in the thermal dose distribution. (C) 1996 American Association o
f Physicists in Medicine.