Ablation Needle with Reflectance Sensors for Tissue Discrimination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ablation techniques for tumors, such as RF ablation, face challenges in predicting heat propagation and monitoring the effectiveness of tumor destruction, especially in complex tissue structures like the liver, making it difficult for surgeons to ensure complete tumor removal without damaging healthy tissue.
Innovation Solution
An interventional ablation device with an elongated body and multiple sensors, including optical sensors, that detect physiological information by measuring reflectance spectra, allowing for precise monitoring and control of the ablation process to differentiate between healthy, tumor, and ablated tissue, and automatically adjust the ablation procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If RF ablation is used to treat tumorous tissue, then tumor destruction is achieved, but heat propagation cannot be predicted and complete tumor treatment cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensor elements that detect physiological information from tissue surrounding the ablation site in real-time. This feedback mechanism allows the system to monitor tissue conditions during ablation and adjust parameters accordingly, ensuring complete tumor treatment while avoiding damage to healthy tissue. The sensor data provides continuous information about tissue state, enabling reliable control of the ablation process.
2Measurement precision
If MRI imaging is used for guidance of ablation needle, then precise positioning is achieved, but intervention becomes costly and impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses sensor elements as intermediaries to detect tissue physiological information during the ablation procedure. These sensors provide real-time feedback about tissue conditions without requiring complex imaging equipment like MRI. The sensor elements act as mediators between the ablation needle and the control system, enabling precise monitoring and control using simpler, more practical technology.
3Ease of operation
If ablation procedure is performed without real-time monitoring, then procedure simplicity is maintained, but tissue discrimination between healthy and tumor tissue cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor elements provide real-time feedback about tissue physiological information during the ablation procedure. This feedback enables the system to distinguish between healthy and tumor tissue based on their different physiological characteristics, allowing for precise tissue discrimination while maintaining operational simplicity through automated monitoring and control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise control of the ablation process, ensuring complete tumor destruction while minimizing damage to healthy tissue, through real-time monitoring and feedback from sensors, potentially reducing the need for costly imaging technologies like MRI.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor is adapted for providing measurement values enabling a detecting of physiological information of tissue surrounding an ablation site
Implementation Method 2
Ions are agitated by the induced electromagnetic field and due to friction this motion is converted into heat
Implementation Method 3
a RF ablation needle produces a high frequency alternating current between 100 kHz and 500 kHz
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
An interventional ablation device (1) is proposed to comprise an ablation needle (3) with an elongated body (5) and a handle (7). Adjacent to an ablation element (9) provided on the body (5), at least one or preferably two or more sensors (11-21) are provided, preferably at both of opposing sides of the ablation element (9). The ablation device (1) is adapted for detecting physiological information of tissue (27, 29, 31) surrounding an ablation site (33) based on measurement values provided by the sensors. E.g., optical sensors may be used to measure a reflectance spectrum indicating whether the adjacent tissue is healthy tissue (31), tumorous tissue (27) or ablated tissue (29). Using such information, an ablation process may be controlled.