Conductivity-Controlled Liquid Medium for Uniform Bladder Electroporation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Bladder cancer often develops resistance to therapies targeting specific biological pathways, and surgical removal of all bladder urothelium during radical cystectomy is limited to high-risk patients or after failure of intravesical therapy, necessitating a minimally invasive and effective alternative for urothelium elimination.
Innovation Solution
A pulsed electric field system using a conductivity-controlled liquid medium to deliver uniform electrical pulses via an expandable electrode catheter, inducing irreversible electroporation and pulsed field ablation to rapidly eliminate urothelium non-invasively, while minimizing thermal effects and electrode complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If multiple electrodes are used to deliver electrical energy over a large volume surface, then energy distribution to tissue is improved, but device complexity increases and localized heating may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a conductivity-controlled liquid medium as an intermediary between the electrodes and the tissue. This liquid medium serves as a conductive pathway that distributes electrical energy uniformly across the entire bladder surface, eliminating the need for numerous electrodes while preventing localized heating. The liquid medium mediates the energy transfer, allowing a single or few electrodes to achieve the effect of multiple electrodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the medium by controlling its conductivity through temperature adjustment and composition modification. By heating the liquid medium to specific temperatures and adjusting its ionic composition, the patent optimizes electrical conductivity to enhance energy distribution efficiency, allowing uniform energy delivery with reduced electrode complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If higher power electrical pulses are delivered to achieve deeper tissue penetration, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but thermal effects and power rating requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the conductivity parameter of the liquid medium by controlling temperature and composition. By optimizing conductivity, the patent enables more efficient electrical energy transmission into the tissue, achieving deeper penetration at lower power levels. This reduces both thermal effects and the power rating requirements of the electrical generator.
3Reliability
If electrical pulses are delivered to eliminate all urothelium, then cancer control is improved, but invasiveness and treatment aggressiveness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical surgical system (radical cystectomy requiring incisions and tissue removal) with an electrical field-based system. Electrical pulses delivered through the conductivity-controlled liquid medium achieve complete urothelium elimination without physical invasion, maintaining cancer control reliability while eliminating surgical invasiveness.
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
The system effectively exfoliates the urothelial layer of the bladder, similar to radical cystectomy, with controlled energy deposition, reducing the need for numerous electrodes and minimizing thermal effects, and can be combined with therapeutic agents for enhanced treatment.
Implementation Method 1
The conductivity-controlled liquid medium allows more uniform electrical pulses to be generated
Implementation Method 2
Irreversible electroporation and pulsed field ablation employ microsecond to short millisecond pulses to induce a permanent change in the cell membrane
Implementation Method 3
Electroporation employs brief electrical pulses to temporarily increase the permeability of cell membranes, allowing the introduction of molecules (such as DNA or drugs) into cells
Implementation Method 4
The conductivity-controlled liquid medium allows more uniform electrical pulses to be generated with fewer localized or focal bursts of pulses, which can reduce the required power rating of the electric generator for the pulses
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary pulsed electric field system and method that can uniformly emit electrical pulses via use of a conductivity-controlled liquid medium to penetrate a pre-defined depth of a target tissue for a whole or region of a hollow or tubular organ to induce a tissue response. The conductivity-controlled liquid medium allows more uniform electrical pulses to be generated with less localized or focal bursts of pulses, which can reduce the required power rating of the electric generator for the pulses. The pulsed electric field system and method can be used for irreversible electroporation and subsequent exfoliation of the surface tissue, electroporation, pulsed field ablation, or cell stimulation.