Segmented Surgical Clamp Electrodes for Precise Cardiac Ablation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for electroporation ablation therapy lack ease of navigation, placement, and safe energy delivery, particularly in cardiac arrhythmia treatments, leading to undesired tissue damage and inefficiency in targeting specific tissue regions.
Innovation Solution
A surgical clamp device with a pair of jaws containing independently addressable electrodes, configured to deliver pulsed electric fields selectively to desired tissue regions, minimizing irreversible electroporation in undesired areas, and synchronized with cardiac pacing to avoid disrupting sinus rhythm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If bipolar surgical device with parallel electrode members is used, then tissue heating and coagulation is achieved, but device navigation and placement ease is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the treatment area into multiple discrete electrode pairs along the longitudinal axis, allowing selective activation of specific segments. This segmentation enables precise targeting of tissue regions while maintaining navigability through modular electrode configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode members are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration with lateral spacing and longitudinal distribution, transitioning from simple parallel planes to a spatial array. This dimensional arrangement allows flexible navigation and placement while maintaining effective tissue engagement through multiple engagement angles.
2Productivity
If high voltage pulses are delivered for electroporation, then ablation therapy is effective, but damage to healthy tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies different electrical field intensities to different tissue regions by selectively activating specific electrode pairs. Healthy tissue receives lower or no voltage, while target tissue receives high-voltage pulses for electroporation, creating localized treatment zones with distinct electrical properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The device delivers high voltage pulses only to the extent necessary for electroporation of target tissue, using controlled pulse duration and selective electrode activation. This partial action approach applies sufficient energy for effective ablation while avoiding excessive energy delivery that would damage surrounding healthy tissue.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If electrode members are laterally spaced apart in parallel, then tissue heating is minimized outside lines, but energy delivery threshold is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The laterally spaced electrode members are organized into discrete segments that can be independently activated. This segmentation allows energy to be concentrated at each electrode pair interface, reducing the overall energy threshold required while maintaining precise spatial control that prevents heating outside treatment zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses pulsed electrical delivery with periodic activation of electrode pairs rather than continuous energy application. This periodic action reduces the average energy threshold required for effective treatment while maintaining the lateral spacing benefit of minimizing off-target heating through controlled pulse timing.
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
Enhances the safety and efficiency of electroporation therapy by reducing energy delivery thresholds, allowing precise ablation with reduced damage to healthy tissue and improved clinical application for cardiac arrhythmias.
Implementation Method 1
Application of brief, high DC voltages to tissue, thereby generating locally high electric fields typically in the range of hundreds of Volts/centimeter, can disrupt cell membranes by generating pores in the cell membrane. If the applied electric field at the membrane is larger than a threshold value, the electroporation is irreversible and the pores remain open, permitting exchange of material across the membrane and leading to necrosis and/or apoptosis (cell death).
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2C
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods for electroporation ablation therapy are disclosed, with the device including a first jaw including a plurality of first electrodes and a second jaw including a plurality of second electrodes. The first jaw and the second jaw may be substantially rigid, elongate, and collectively define a longitudinal axis. The first jaw and the second jaw may be configured to engage tissue therebetween during use.