Biological Tissues

Modeling Temperature Effects of RF Thermoablation in a Human Liver using the bioheat formulation in CST DE

This article is concerned with the evaluation of the temperature distribution inside a human liver when a catheter is inserted. It summarises the simulations performed with the HUGO and University of L'Aquila's ALES anatomical models. The co-simulation procedure using both CST MICROWAVE STUDIO® (CST MWS) and CST EM STUDIO™ (CST EMS) is also described. With permission and courtesy of the University of L'Aquila, Italy. Read full article..

Simulation of Mobile Phone Antenna Performance

The telecommunications sector is making great advances aimed at delivering an even stream of high tech devices, covering the significant consumer demands in this sector. EM simulation is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool in the design flow, not only on the antenna level but also on the phone and environmental levels. This article compares simulated results with measurements for several steps in the phone design chain. Read full article..

RF Coil Design for Magnetic Resonance Imaging at the Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility

Christof Thalhammer, Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility, Max-Delbrueck-Center At the Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility we explore the advantages and needs of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at 7 Tesla. Apart from the magnet and the gradient system, the radio frequency (RF) coils form an essential part of the MR system and are topic of intense research. Ultrahigh field systems are not yet in clinical use and the number of commercial coils for these systems is very limited, hence the coil design is an important part of our facility’s work. Since higher magnetic fields require higher frequencies, one has to deal with stronger interaction of the RF fields with the human tissue. Therefore conventional coil designs established at lower magnetic field strengths cannot be directly applied at 7.0 T which asks for new concepts and developments. To accelerate and streamline the design of new coils, our group recently started to use CST Studio Suite 2010. Together with detailed voxel models of human bodies (the “Virtual Family” by the ITIS Foundation), we use the CST package to simulate the distribution of the magnetic field and the RF power distribution in the patient’s body with the ultimate goal to optimize our coil designs for reasons of B1-homogeneity and local SAR distribution. Some of the first results will be shown to illustrate the application of CST Studio Suite in one of our projects, i.e. the design of a multi channel transmit/receive coil array for cardiovascular MRI at 7.0 Tesla. Read full article..

TLM Simulation of Human Exposure to 400MHz Electromagnetic Fields Inside a Car

Transmitters used in vehicle environments present potential threats to the health and safety of vehicle users, in terms of both human exposure to electromagnetic fields and vehicle EMC (electromagnetic compatibility). The recently revised automotive EMC directive (2004/104/EC) now requires vehicle manufacturers to identify acceptable frequencies, powers and antenna installations that can be used on vehicles without compromising their EMC performance. The simulations presented here were performed with CST MICROSTRIPES™. Read full article..

Mobile Phone Simulations with Human Head and Hand Models

Human head models like the SAM phantom are already regularly used to test the influence on mobile phone performance as well as to check the compliance to SAR standards. However, the hand also influences the field distribution significantly. The following article shows the CST MICROWAVE STUDIO® (CST MWS) simulation results of a complete Sony Ericsson mobile phone in relation to head and hand phantoms. Read full article..

EM field distribution and SAR in a Human Head with MRI Coil

CST MICROWAVE STUDIO® (CST MWS) was used to aid in the computational investigation of the transverse B1-field homogeneity and SAR values in a 11.7 T / 500 MHz 4-port driven RF head coil loaded with a high-resolution human model (HUGO based on the Visible Human Project®). The simulations show the expected enhancement of the B-field in the centre of the head compared with the unloaded case and no significant changes in the maximum 1g SAR values between 2-port linear and circular polarizations. This work was carried out by CEA Saclay, France and is summarised in this article with the permssion and courtesy of Xavier Hanus and his colleagues. Read full article..

HUGO Human Body Model

This article demonstrates the capabilities for importing the HUGO dataset via the CST STUDIO SUITE™ Voxel Data Interface. Read full article..

SAR - Spherical Phantom Model

A standardized spherical phantom head such as the one described in this example is commonly used for SAR investigations and measurements. Read full article..