Bronchoscopic RF Ablation Catheters for High-Impedance Lung Tumors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating lung cancer, particularly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), are limited by the inability of existing bronchoscopic ablation devices to effectively deliver radiofrequency (RF) energy due to high tissue impedance and the challenges of navigating through the lung's airways, especially for peripheral tumors, and the need for improved devices that can fit within small bronchoscope channels.
Innovation Solution
The use of flexible ablation catheters that infuse conductive fluid to reduce tissue impedance, occlude airways to collapse lung tissue, and deliver RF energy using monopolar, bipolar, or multipolar configurations, combined with techniques like local hypoxic vasoconstriction and infusion of hypertonic saline to enhance ablation efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If percutaneous RF ablation with needle electrode is used, then tumor ablation effectiveness is improved, but procedural complexity and risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical percutaneous needle insertion approach with a bronchoscopic delivery system that uses the patient's natural airway as the access route. This substitution eliminates the need for CT guidance, local anesthesia, and chest wall puncture, while maintaining RF ablation effectiveness through bronchoscopically-delivered electrodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a bronchoscope as an intermediary device that facilitates RF electrode delivery through the airway. This intermediary provides a controlled, visualized pathway to the tumor, replacing the direct percutaneous approach and reducing procedural risks associated with blind needle insertion.
2Ease of operation
If bronchoscopic ablation is attempted through working channel, then minimally invasive approach is maintained, but ablation volume is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ablation process into multiple phases: first delivering a collapsible balloon through the working channel to occlude the airway, then collapsing the lung segment, and finally delivering RF electrodes to the compressed tumor. This segmentation allows the procedure to maintain minimal invasiveness while achieving sufficient ablation volume through the combined effect of tissue compression and multiple electrode applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of lung collapse to the ablation process. By collapsing the lung segment containing the tumor, the three-dimensional tumor volume is compressed into a smaller space, allowing adequate ablation volume to be achieved within the constraints of the bronchoscope working channel.
3Ease of operation
If RF ablation is delivered through air-filled lung tissue, then bronchoscopic access is maintained, but energy delivery efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the lung tissue from air-filled to fluid-filled by instilling conductive fluid through the bronchoscope. This parameter change reduces electrical impedance and improves RF energy delivery efficiency, while the bronchoscopic access route remains intact. The conductive fluid acts as a coupling medium between the electrodes and the tumor tissue.
4Volume of stationary object
If larger ablation electrodes are used, then ablation volume increases, but device flexibility and bronchoscope compatibility decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic, deployable electrode structures that can be compact during delivery through the bronchoscope and then expanded or deployed at the target site. This allows the device to maintain flexibility and small profile during navigation while achieving adequate ablation volume when deployed against the compressed tumor tissue.
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 approach allows for effective ablation of lung tumors by increasing RF energy delivery, improving lesion dimensions, and reducing complications, with the potential to treat a broader range of lung cancer patients, including those with COPD.
Implementation Method 1
delivering RF energy to a lung tumor with an ablation electrode
Implementation Method 2
infusion of conductive fluid to reduce tissue impedance
Implementation Method 3
removing air from the targeted portion of the lung to at least partially collapse the lung portion
Implementation Method 4
infusion of hypertonic saline to enhance ablation efficacy
Data Source
AI summary
A method to treat a human patient including: advancing a catheter through a natural airway of the patient and positioning a distal portion of the catheter in the natural airway of a lung of the patient to a target region in the lung, injecting a conductive hypertonic saline solution having a concentration of at least 5% of sodium chloride by weight/volume from the distal portion of the catheter into the target region; delivering energy from the distal portion into the conductive hypertonic saline solution in the target region, wherein the energy heats the liquid in the portion of the airway, and ablating the target region with the heated liquid.