The use of energy-based devices to treat genitourinary syndrome of menopause, termed vaginal thermotherapy (VTT), has gained significant interest in recent years. Among the primary safety concerns of this relatively new procedure is the possibility of unintentionally heating tissues adjacent to the vaginal wall, i.e., heating too deeply. Herein we use numerical simulations to evaluate monopolar radiofrequency-based (RF) VTT specifically focusing on the resultant depth of heating through a range of input parameters. Varying RF power, exposure time, and the simulated rate of blood perfusion, we map the parameter space identifying which combinations of input parameters are likely to heat past the depth of the vaginal wall and affect adjacent tissue. We found that the device parameters commonly used in the literature are likely to heat past the vaginal wall and merit further investigation. In addition, we found that the parameter typically used to describe VTT devices, total energy delivered, does not reliably indicate the resultant depth of heat dispersion.

近年来，使用基于能量的设备来治疗更年期泌尿生殖系统综合症，称为阴道热疗 (VTT)，引起了人们的极大兴趣。这种相对较新的手术的主要安全问题之一是可能会无意中加热阴道壁附近的组织，即加热过深。在这里，我们使用数值模拟来评估基于单极射频 (RF) 的 VTT，特别关注通过一系列输入参数产生的加热深度。改变射频功率、暴露时间和模拟的血液灌注速率，我们映射参数空间，确定哪些输入参数组合可能加热超过阴道壁深度并影响邻近组织。我们发现文献中常用的装置参数可能会超过阴道壁，值得进一步研究。此外，我们发现通常用于描述 VTT 设备的参数（传递的总能量）并不能可靠地指示最终的散热深度。