Detecting distance between injected microspheres and target tumor via 3D reconstruction of tissue sections.

One treatment increasing in use for solid tumors in the liver is radioembolization via the delivery of (90)Y microspheres to the vascular bed within or near the location of the tumor. It is desirable as part of the treatment for the microspheres to embed preferentially in or near the tumor. This work details an approach for analyzing the deposition of microspheres with respect to the location of the tumor. The approach used is based upon thin-slice serial sectioning of the tissue sample, followed by high resolution imaging, microsphere detection, and 3-D reconstruction of the tumor surface. Distance from the microspheres to the tumor was calculated using a fast deterministic point inclusion method.

Computer modeling of controlled microsphere release and targeting in a representative hepatic artery system.

Combating liver tumors via yttrium-90 ((90)Y) radioembolization is a viable treatment option of nonresectable liver tumors. Employing clinical (90)Y microparticles (i.e., SIR-Spheres and TheraSpheres) in a computational model of a representative hepatic artery system, laminar transient 3D particle-hemodynamics were simulated. Specifically, optimal particle release positions in the right hepatic (parent) artery as well as the best temporal release window were determined for the microspheres to exit specific outlet daughter vessels, potentially connected to liver tumors. The results illustrate the influence of a curved geometry on the velocity field and the particle trajectory dependence on the spatial and temporal particle injection conditions. The differing physical particle characteristics of the SIR-Spheres and the TheraSpheres had a subtle impact on particle trajectories in the decelerating portion of the arterial pulse, i.e., when the inertial forces on the particles are weaker. Conversely, particle characteristics and inelastic wall collisions had little effect on particles released during the accelerating phase of the arterial pulse, i.e., both types of microspheres followed organized paths to predetermined outlets. Such results begin paving the way towards directing 100% of the released microspheres to specific daughter vessels (e.g., those connected to tumors) under transient flow conditions in realistic geometries via a novel drug-particle targeting methodology.

Computer modeling of yttrium-90-microsphere transport in the hepatic arterial tree to improve clinical outcomes.

PURPOSE: Radioembolization (RE) via yttrium-90 ((90)Y) microspheres is an effective and safe treatment for unresectable liver malignancies. However, no data are available regarding the impact of local blood flow dynamics on (90)Y-microsphere transport and distribution in the human hepatic arterial system. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A three-dimensional (3-D) computer model was developed to analyze and simulate blood-microsphere flow dynamics in the hepatic arterial system with tumor. Supplemental geometric and flow data sets from patients undergoing RE were also available to validate the accuracy of the computer simulation model. Specifically, vessel diameters, curvatures, and branching patterns, as well as blood flow velocities/pressures and microsphere characteristics (i.e., diameter and specific gravity), were measured. Three-dimensional computer-aided design software was used to create the vessel geometries. Initial trials, with 10,000 noninteracting microspheres released into the hepatic artery, used resin spheres 32-microm in diameter with a density twice that of blood. RESULTS: Simulations of blood flow subject to different branch-outlet pressures as well as blood-microsphere transport were successfully carried out, allowing testing of two types of microsphere release distributions in the inlet plane of the main hepatic artery. If the inlet distribution of microspheres was uniform (evenly spaced particles), a greater percentage would exit into the vessel branch feeding the tumor. Conversely, a parabolic inlet distribution of microspheres (more particles around the vessel center) showed a high percentage of microspheres exiting the branch vessel leading to the normal liver. CONCLUSIONS: Computer simulations of both blood flow patterns and microsphere dynamics have the potential to provide valuable insight on how to optimize (90)Y-microsphere implantation into hepatic tumors while sparing normal tissue.