Electrode Design for Internal Electric Field Delivery to Brain Tumors: Considering Electrical Power and Dynamic Field...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Intratumoral Modulation Therapy (IMT) shows preclinical efficacy for brain cancer.
• Optimizing electrode design is key for clinical translation of IMT.
• Minimizing power consumption is essential for implanted device longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize electrode design for Intratumoral Modulation Therapy (IMT).
• To minimize power consumption while maintaining tumor coverage and field shaping.
• To evaluate electrode design robustness on patient-specific tumor models.

Main Methods:

• Cylindrical multi-contact electrodes were modeled with varying parameters (radius, spacing, length).
• Simulations were performed on spherical tumors (20-40 mm) and 11 patient glioma MR images.
• Stimulation programming and power consumption were optimized for target coverage and field shaping.

Main Results:

• Maximal electrode radius (0.8 mm) and minimal contact spacing (1 mm) minimized power consumption.
• A contact length of 4 mm minimized complexity while preserving field shaping capability.
• The optimized design demonstrated robustness on irregular patient tumor shapes.

Conclusions:

• Novel IMT electrode designs were developed, reducing power needs and maintaining therapeutic field characteristics.
• The optimized design is suitable for patient-specific brain tumor geometries.
• This work represents a significant step towards the clinical application of IMT for brain cancer treatment.