The finite element method--a new approach to determination of heat flow in the eye shown in an example of cryotherapy--preliminary report.
The finite element algorithm is presented for the determination of heat flow within the partially frozen cornea during cryotherapy. The latent heat involved in phase change was taken into account by virtue of the enthalpy defined as the integral of heat capacity with respect to temperature. The numerical method is used to analyze the freezing process within the cornea in cryotherapy. This method determines the temperature in an arbitrary point in the cornea at an arbitrary time of the cryoapplication with different temperatures of the cryoapplicator without the necessity of actual temperature measurement. The relationship between the morphological layers and the temperature distribution in the cornea and the results of numerical analyses for different parameters are presented.
D001831:Body Temperature; D003452:Cryosurgery; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009799:Ocular Physiological Phenomena; D013997:Time Factors