Simplified Non-Thermal Tissue Ablation With a Single Insertion Device Enabled by Bipolar High-Frequency Pulses

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Surgical Technology
• Oncology

Background:

• High frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) is an innovative in situ tumor ablation technique.
• It utilizes electrical pulses to induce cell death with minimal thermal damage, preserving tissue architecture.
• This offers potential advantages over thermal ablation, especially near critical structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of a simplified H-FIRE delivery system.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of a single electrode and grounding pad approach for hepatic tissue ablation.
• To establish the safety and effectiveness of this method in an in-vivo model.

Main Methods:

• Porcine livers underwent ablation using high frequency bursts of short electrical pulses (0.5-5.0 μs) at high voltages (1.1-1.7 kV).
• Treatments were performed without cardiac synchronization or paralytics.
• Finite element simulations determined lethal electric field strengths (E_Lethal) and predicted ablation zones.

Main Results:

• All procedures were survived without adverse events.
• Specific E_Lethal values were determined for varying pulse durations and energized times per burst (e.g., 2550 V/cm for 0.5 μs pulses, 100 bursts, 25 μs energized time).
• A treatment with 1 μs pulses yielded an E_Lethal of 650 V/cm.

Conclusions:

• A single electrode and grounding pad H-FIRE system is feasible for hepatic tissue ablation.
• This simplified approach can overcome challenges associated with multi-electrode placement in complex anatomical regions.
• The technique shows promise for improving tumor ablation procedures.