Expandable Electrode for Irreversible Electroporation Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical ablation therapies face challenges in accurately targeting and delivering controlled energy to undesirable tissue without damaging surrounding healthy tissue, especially when located near critical structures, due to the risk of thermal damage and limited control over energy application.
Innovation Solution
An electrical ablation device with an elongate member featuring a first electrode and an expandable portion that can transition between contracted and expanded states, allowing precise deployment and expansion to contact tissue within a biological lumen, using irreversible electroporation to induce cell death without significant thermal effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional electrical ablation therapies are used to treat undesirable tissue, then tissue ablation is achieved, but surrounding healthy tissue may be permanently damaged due to thermal energy exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of energy delivery from continuous thermal energy to pulsed electrical fields. By using short-duration high-voltage pulses (microsecond to millisecond range), the system achieves tissue ablation through irreversible electroporation rather than thermal heating, thereby eliminating thermal damage to surrounding healthy tissue while maintaining effective ablation of the target tissue
2Measurement precision
If ablative electrodes are positioned to target undesirable tissue, then energy delivery to target zone is enabled, but control over energy application is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is designed with expandable and contractible capabilities, transitioning from a compact delivery state to an expanded treatment state. This dynamic transformation allows the electrode to be precisely positioned in a minimally invasive manner, then expanded to provide controlled energy application across the target tissue with adjustable contact pressure and energy distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs pulsed electrical fields with controlled duration, amplitude, and repetition frequency. By delivering energy in discrete pulses rather than continuous exposure, the system achieves precise control over energy application to the target zone, allowing for real-time adjustment of treatment parameters and preventing excessive energy delivery
3Reliability
If surgical resection is performed to remove undesirable tissue near critical structures, then tissue removal is achieved, but morbidity risk increases due to damage to critical structures
Solution Approach 1:
By changing from thermal-based resection to electrical pulse-based ablation, the system creates a non-thermal ablation zone that spares critical structures such as blood vessels and nerves. The pulsed electrical fields selectively permeabilize cell membranes of target tissue without generating thermal damage, enabling safe treatment of tissue adjacent to critical structures where conventional resection would pose high morbidity risk
4Measurement precision
If expandable electrode is deployed to contact tissue within biological lumen, then precise ablation is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable electrode is designed with a nested structure where the electrode elements are contained within a delivery catheter in a compressed state. Upon deployment, the electrode expands outward from the catheter to contact the tissue. This nesting approach allows the complex expandable structure to be delivered through minimally invasive access while maintaining the capability for precise tissue contact and ablation at the target site
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 minimally invasive, precise ablation of undesirable tissue while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue, reducing morbidity and improving surgical outcomes by accurately delivering ablative energy with controlled expansion and contraction of the electrode.
Implementation Method 1
Tissue is treated by applying one or more sequences of electrical pulse to the first electrode to induce cell death in the tissue by irreversible electroporation
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument, such as an electrical ablation device, includes an elongate member having therealong disposed a first electrode extending along an axis. A first expandable portion extends along the axis and defines a first perimeter of the first electrode and has an associated first diameter with respect to the axis. The first expandable portion includes a first framework selectively expandable to transition the first expandable portion from a contracted state to an expanded state. The first framework is selectively contractible to transition the first expandable portion from the expanded state to the contracted state. When the first framework is expanded, the first diameter is expanded and the first expandable portion is transitioned from the contracted state to the expanded state. When the first framework is contracted, the first diameter is contracted and the first expandable portion is transitioned from the expanded state to the contracted state.