High-frequency electroporation tumor ablation system
This technology uses rapid bursts of electrical pulses—switching direction thousands of times per second—to destroy cancer cells without generating damaging heat in surrounding tissue. Traditional electroporation-based cancer treatments can cause thermal burns and muscle contractions that complicate surgery; this approach uses very short, high-frequency bipolar pulses to kill tumor cells by disrupting their membranes while sparing nearby healthy structures. The pulses can be applied through electrodes placed around or inside a tumor, making it suitable for hard-to-reach cancers like brain tumors. It can work alone or in combination with chemotherapy drugs to increase their uptake into cancer cells.
What you could build
A minimally invasive tumor ablation system—comprising a pulse generator and electrode probes—sold to hospitals and interventional oncology centers for treating solid tumors, including brain, liver, and pancreatic cancers where thermal ablation is too risky.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia hospital systems, academic medical centers like UVA Health and VCU Health, and medtech companies in the Northern Virginia/DC corridor developing oncology devices would be natural partners or licensees.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Christopher B. Arena, Rafael V. Davalos, Michael B. Sano
- Granted
- May 21, 2019
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 10292755
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.