Internal and External Electrodes for Tumor Electric Field Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cancer treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, often come with undesirable side effects like fatigue, hair loss, and long recovery times, and there is a need for more effective methods to target cancerous tumors without these drawbacks.
Innovation Solution
A medical device system that generates therapeutic electric fields using both implanted and external electrodes, delivering electric fields at frequencies between 10 kHz to 1 MHz to disrupt cellular division and induce apoptosis in cancer cells, allowing for precise targeting of tumors with minimal side effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional cancer therapies (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy) are used, then cancerous tumors can be treated, but undesirable side effects (fatigue, hair loss, long recovery times) occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using implanted electrodes positioned directly at or near the tumor site to deliver electric fields locally, while external electrodes provide additional field coverage. This localized delivery concentrates the therapeutic effect on the tumor while minimizing exposure and side effects to surrounding healthy tissues, thereby treating cancer effectively while reducing harmful side effects.
2Area of stationary object
If electric fields are delivered using only external electrodes, then treatment coverage is limited, but achieving sufficient field strength at deep tumor sites becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements the nested doll principle by combining internal and external electrodes in a hierarchical configuration. Implanted electrodes are positioned within or near the tumor to generate strong local electric fields, while external electrodes are placed on the skin surface to provide broader coverage and augment the overall field distribution. This nested arrangement allows deep tumor sites to receive sufficient field strength from internal electrodes while external electrodes expand the treatment coverage area.
3Measurement precision
If multiple electrodes are implanted to achieve precise targeting, then treatment precision improves, but device complexity and surgical invasiveness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the electrode system into multiple independent components: implanted electrodes for precise local targeting and external electrodes for broader coverage. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high targeting precision through the implanted electrodes while the external electrodes can be easily adjusted and removed, reducing overall system complexity and surgical invasiveness compared to implanting a single complex multi-electrode device.
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 halts cellular division and induces apoptosis in cancer cells, potentially offering a more targeted and less invasive treatment option for cancerous tumors, reducing the need for traditional therapies' side effects.
Implementation Method 1
at least one electric field generating circuit configured to generate one or more electric fields
Implementation Method 2
the control circuitry causes the electric field generating circuit to generate one or more electric fields at frequencies selected from a range of between 10 kHz to 1 MHz
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments herein relate to medical devices and methods for using the same to treat cancerous tumors within a bodily tissue. A medical device system is included having at least one electric field generating circuit configured to generate one or more electric fields; control circuitry in communication with the electric field generating circuit, the control circuitry configured to control delivery of the one or more electric fields from the at least one electric field generating circuit; and two or more electrodes to deliver the electric fields to the site of a cancerous tumor within a patient. At least one electrode can be configured to be implanted. At least one electrode can be configured to be external. The control circuitry can cause the electric field generating circuit to generate one or more electric fields at frequencies selected from a range of between 10 kHz to 1 MHz.