METHODS: A 3D model of the liver tissue was developed. Saline infusion was described using the dual porosity model, while RFA was described using the electrostatic and bioheat transfer equations. Three infusion locations were investigated, namely at the proximal end, the middle and the distal end of the electrode. Investigations were carried out numerically using the finite element method.

RESULTS: Results indicated that greater thermal coagulation was found in the region of tissue occupied by the saline bolus. Infusion at the middle of the electrode led to the largest coagulation volume followed by infusion at the proximal and distal ends. It was also found that the ability to delay roll-off, as commonly associated with saline-infused RFA, was true only for the case when infusion is carried out at the middle. When infused at the proximal and distal ends, the occurrence of roll-off was advanced. This may be due to the rapid and more intense heating experienced by the tissue when infusion is carried out at the electrode ends where Joule heating is dominant.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three-dimensional solid models of the maxilla, mucosa, and denture of a selected edentulous patient were created using Mimics and CATIA software. The FEA model was created and duplicated in ANSYS 16.0 to perform two simulations for the IOD and the CD models. The values of maximum stress and strain and total deformation were obtained and compared to the outcomes of premaxilla resorption from a parallel clinical study.

RESULTS: The maximum principal stress in the premaxilla in the IOD model ranged from 0.019 to 0.336 MPa, while it ranged from 0.011 to 0.193 MPa in the CD model. The maximum principal strain in the IOD model was 1.75 times greater than that in the CD model. Total deformation was 1.8 times higher in the IOD model. Greater bone resorption was observed in regions of higher stress, which were on the occlusal and buccal sides of the premaxilla residual ridge.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The RFA of a spherical tumor of 2.0 cm diameter along with 0.5 cm clinical safety margin was simulated using Finite Element Analysis software. A total of 86 points inside one-eighth of the tumor volume along the axial, sagittal and coronal planes were selected as the target sites for electrode-tip placement. The angle of the electrode insertion in both craniocaudal and orbital planes ranged from -90° to +90° with 30° increment. The RFA electrode was simulated to pass through the target site at different angles in combination of both craniocaudal and orbital planes before being advanced to the edge of the tumor.

RESULTS: Complete tumor ablation was observed whenever the electrode-tip penetrated through the epicenter of the tumor regardless of the angles of electrode insertion in both craniocaudal and orbital planes. Complete tumor ablation can also be achieved by placing the electrode-tip at several optimal sites and angles.

Materials and Methods: A 3D prototype of a mandibular premolar was generated by Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) images obtained from the cone beam computed tomography and imported to 3D modeling software tool, SpaceClaim. The four distinct load magnitudes of 100, 150, 200, and 250N were applied as a pressure load perpendicular to the lingual plane of the lingual cusp of the occlusal surface (normal load) and at 45° to same (oblique load). The stress distribution patterns and the maximum von Mises stresses were analyzed and compared.

Results: The occlusal stresses were distributed from the force loading point in an approximate actinomorphic pattern, and when the force load was close to the margin, the stress was much greater.