Electrosurgical Radiating Tip for Pancreas Microwave Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrosurgical instruments face challenges in accurately and minimally invasively ablating tissues, particularly in difficult-to-reach areas like the pancreas, due to limitations in precision and the risk of damaging surrounding healthy tissue.
Innovation Solution
The development of an electrosurgical instrument with a radiating tip portion capable of performing both microwave ablation and electroporation, allowing for simultaneous or sequential delivery of energy to tissues, thereby enhancing precision and minimizing tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional electrosurgical instruments are inserted percutaneously into the patient's body, then the treatment can be delivered directly to the target site, but it is difficult to locate the instrument accurately in moving organs like the lung or thin-walled GI tract
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a surgical scoping device (endoscope) as an intermediary tool to deliver the electrosurgical instrument to the target site. The endoscope can navigate through natural body passages and provide visual guidance, making it easier to reach and accurately locate moving organs like the lung or GI tract without direct percutaneous insertion
2Productivity
If microwave energy is applied to ablate target tissue, then rapid tissue heating and cell death occurs, but the treatment time is extended when power needs to be reduced to avoid damaging surrounding healthy tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a focused microwave antenna that concentrates electromagnetic energy into a localized ablation zone within the target tissue. This focal delivery allows high power to be applied to the tumor while surrounding healthy tissue receives minimal energy, eliminating the need to reduce overall power and maintaining fast treatment speeds without damaging adjacent structures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates real-time monitoring of the electromagnetic field distribution and tissue response during ablation. This feedback mechanism allows dynamic adjustment of energy delivery to maintain optimal power levels that achieve rapid tumor ablation while preventing overheating of surrounding healthy tissue
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a small diameter conductive wire is used for RF ablation in the pancreas, then minimally invasive treatment is achieved, but the treatment requires prolonged power application (90-120 seconds) and may require removal and repositioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional RF electrical current delivery system with a microwave electromagnetic field delivery system. This substitution enables more efficient energy transfer to the tissue, achieving the same ablation effect in significantly shorter time (seconds rather than minutes) while maintaining the minimally invasive approach through the same small-diameter catheter
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
This instrument enables rapid and accurate tissue ablation in a minimally invasive manner, reducing treatment time and minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue, while also allowing for versatile use in various anatomical locations.
Implementation Method 1
a proximal coaxial transmission line for receiving and conveying the microwave energy
Implementation Method 2
Water molecules have a permanent electric dipole moment, meaning that a charge imbalance exists across the molecule. This charge imbalance causes the molecules to move in response to the forces generated by application of a time varying electric field as the molecules rotate to align their electric dipole moment with the polarity of the applied field. At microwave frequencies, rapid molecular oscillations result in frictional heating and consequential dissipation of the field energy in the form of heat. This is known as dielectric heating.
Implementation Method 3
Another type of tumour treatment makes use of an effect known as electroporation (or electropermeabilization). In this technique, electrical pulses are applied to biological tissue to cause nanoscale pores to open in cell membranes at a target site.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrosurgical instrument having a radiating tip portion capable performing tissue ablation using microwave energy and electroporation (e.g. non-thermal irreversible electroporation) in a minimally invasive manner. The electrosurgical instrument may be used to perform microwave ablation and electroporation separately (e.g. sequentially) or simultaneously. The radiating tip portion may be dimensioned to be suitable for insertion into a pancreas via a surgical scoping device, to provide a rapid and accurate alternative to known RF ablation techniques. By enabling tumours within the pancreas to be treated using a minimally invasive procedure, it may be a viable option to use ablation and/or electroporation treatment for both curative as well as palliative reasons.