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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

International Heat Transfer Conference 12
August, 18-23, 2002, Grenoble, France

Numerical modeling of scalp cooling to prevent hair loss induced by chemotherapy

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC12.2880
6 pages

摘要

More and more, patients with cancer are given medical treatment at some stage during the course of the disease. This so-called chemotherapy often leads to hair loss. Scalp cooling during the administration of the cytotoxic drugs can reduce hair loss; it is commonly applied by placing a cap containing a cold gel (cold cap)on the head. However, the hair preservation effect of scalp cooling varies strongly. The reasons for the varying success rates are only partly understood. For this reason a computer model was developed to study the temperature distribution in the head during scalp cooling.
The computer model consisted of a head and cold cap, idealized with spherical elements representing brain, skull, fat, skin, hair and cold cap. Dimensions, thermal properties, blood flow and metabolic rate of each layer were taken from literature. Heat flow due to blood was represented using Pennes' bioheat equation.
After calculating the temperature profile in the head, the cold cap (initial temperature -30°C)w as added, and the development of the temperature profile in time was calculated. The scalp temperature reached a minimum of 15.6°C after 471 seconds, after which it gradually returned to a normal value. This behavior corresponded to temperature measurements on individuals. Parameter variations showed that particularly the thickness of the hair layer had considerable effects on the temperature profile. When the thickness of the hair layer was doubled the minimum skin temperature was 5°C higher than in the standard analysis. The thickness of the skin and its perfusion rate were of lesser importance, whereas the metabolic rate of the skin and brain turned out to be negligible.
We conclude that the current model is a useful tool in determining crucial parameters in the design and user protocol of the cold cap. Although rather simplified in nature, it showed the relative importance of several factors in the design of the cold cap. The combination of this model with clinical data on hair loss will aid in determining the optimal parameters for scalp cooling, hence, may reduce the loss of hair during chemotherapy.