Understanding the thermal response of laser-irradiated biological samples is important to optimize the efficiency of photo-thermal therapy for selective destruction of cancerous cells. The present review article discusses the attempts that have been made to numerically model the process of light propagation through biological tissue samples and to understand the thermal response of such laser-irradiated samples. Numerical approaches for solving the classical form of radiative transfer equation (RTE) and the subsequent coupling of the solution of RTE with various bio-heat transfer models (Fourier as well as non-Fourier) for finding the temperature distribution within the volume of the tissue phantom that is subjected to laser-irradiation are discussed. Applications of contrast enhancing reagents (for instance, gold nanorods and/or nanoshells) for improving the therapeutic performance of laser-based photo-thermal therapy is also highlighted.
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