Combined Electroporation and Electrolysis for Tissue Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue ablation methods, such as electrolysis and electroporation, are lengthy and require high concentrations of ablative chemical species, and there is a need for more effective and efficient techniques to enhance tissue ablation.
Innovation Solution
Combining electroporation with electrolysis to permeabilize cell membranes and deliver electrolysis products directly to the targeted tissue, allowing for enhanced tissue ablation by enabling electrolytic products to pass through the permeabilized membrane and cause cell damage at lower concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrolysis is used for tissue ablation, then chemical ablation occurs through cytotoxic environment and new chemical species, but the procedure is lengthy and requires high concentrations of electrolytically-produced ablative chemical species
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines electroporation and electrolysis into a single integrated system with electrodes that can deliver both high-voltage pulses for membrane permeabilization and low-voltage continuous current for electrolysis product generation. This merging allows the two processes to work synergistically, where electroporation creates immediate membrane defects for rapid cell death while electrolysis provides sustained chemical ablation, thereby reducing overall procedure time while maintaining ablation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs electroporation as a preliminary action before or during electrolysis to pre-permeabilize cell membranes. This preliminary permeabilization allows electrolysis products to enter cells more efficiently, accelerating the ablation process and reducing the time required to achieve effective tissue destruction without requiring excessively high concentrations of chemical species.
2Reliability
If electrolysis is used for tissue ablation, then chemical ablation occurs through cytotoxic environment, but high concentrations of electrolytically-produced ablative chemical species are required
Solution Approach 1:
By merging electroporation and electrolysis, the system achieves synergistic ablation where electroporation causes immediate cell membrane failure allowing electrolysis products to penetrate cells at lower external concentrations. The combined effect achieves reliable tissue ablation with reduced requirements for high concentrations of ablative chemical species compared to electrolysis alone.
Solution Approach 2:
Electroporation acts as an intermediary mechanism that facilitates the delivery of electrolysis products into cells. The electric field-induced membrane permeabilization serves as a mediator that enhances the penetration efficiency of cytotoxic chemical species, allowing effective intracellular delivery at lower external concentrations and reducing the overall quantity of ablative chemicals needed.
3Reliability
If electroporation is used alone for tissue ablation, then membrane permeabilization occurs, but irreversible defects require high-magnitude electric field pulses
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated system merges electroporation and electrolysis so that the electroporation phase uses high-magnitude pulses for membrane permeabilization, followed by a lower-energy electrolysis phase that sustains the ablation effect. This combination allows irreversible membrane defects to be produced with controlled energy input, where the subsequent electrolysis process maintains cell death without requiring continuous high-magnitude electric fields.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from pulsed electroporation to continuous low-voltage electrolysis, maintaining the useful ablation action continuously. After initial membrane permeabilization creates irreversible defects, the continuous electrolysis current sustains the cytotoxic environment and prevents cell recovery, ensuring continuous effective action without requiring repeated high-energy pulses.
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 combined method significantly increases the extent of tissue ablation compared to individual use of electrolysis or electroporation, reducing treatment time and energy requirements while improving effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
The bioelectric phenomenon of electroporation is characterized by the permeabilization of the cell membrane through the application of very brief, high-magnitude electric field pulses
Implementation Method 2
The process of electrolysis occurs at the electrode surfaces for electrodes submerged in an ionic conducting media. New chemical species are generated at the interface of the electrodes as a result of the electric potential driven transfer between electrons and ions or atoms
Implementation Method 3
electro-osmotic forces drive the migration of water from the anode to the cathode, further magnifying the contrasting physiological effects at the electrode surfaces
Data Source
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Figure 2A~2B
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AI summary
Example apparatuses and systems are disclosed for providing controlled delivery of electrolysis treatment and cellular permeabilization treatment to a site in tissue. A system disclosed may include an electrode, a power supply, and a controller. The controller may control a charge applied to the electrode to induce a direct current through the aqueous matrix to produce electrolysis products and a voltage to produce electroporation. The duration and magnitude of the charge applied may determine the dose of the products and the degree of the permeabilization of cells in the treatment site. The composition of the electrodes may be chosen in accordance with the desired products produced and electro -poration effects. An apparatus is disclosed that may be in the form of electrodes for electrolysis and electrodes for electroporation applied to the tissue. An apparatus is disclosed that may be used for treating internal tissue.