A parallel implementation of a thermoregulation model using the finite element method

Resumo

This paper presents a parallel implementation of a thermoregulation model using the finite ele-
ment method to perform numerical analyses of brain cooling procedures in neonates and adults. The par-
allel method was designed for hybrid parallel machines, which is the case of PC clusters with multicore

processors connected via a local network. Compressed data structures are used to store the coefficient
matrices and obtain iterative solutions in a subdomain-by-subdomain approach. The MPI standard is

used for distributed memory interprocess communication and for shared-memory, with intranode com-
munication being performed simulating a virtual distributed-memory system in a multicore hardware.

The method is used in a FEM package applied to the solution of the continuum bioheat Pennes equation

with a blood pool approach for arterial temperature changes. The efficiency of the parallel implemen-
tation is tested in two different platforms using a complex three-dimensional geometry obtained from

computed tomography medical images.