Vascular-delivery IRE system for deep-seated solid tumors
This technology uses a body's own blood vessels as a delivery highway for a cancer-killing electrical treatment called irreversible electroporation (IRE). Instead of inserting electrodes directly into a tumor — which is difficult when tumors are deep inside organs — surgeons temporarily clamp off blood flow to the target organ, thread electrodes through those same vessels, and then send precisely controlled electrical pulses through the fluid already present in the vasculature. The electrical current destroys tumor cells without the heat damage associated with other ablation techniques. The same vascular-delivery approach can also be used outside the body to strip living cells from donor organs while preserving the underlying scaffold structure, which is valuable for building transplantable replacement tissues.
What you could build
A catheter-based IRE delivery system — potentially sold as a capital device plus single-use kit — targeting surgical oncology teams treating hepatic, renal, or pancreatic tumors; a secondary market exists in regenerative medicine companies using the ex vivo decellularization protocol to manufacture organ scaffolds.
Who in Virginia should care
Medical device companies and hospital systems in the Northern Virginia/DC corridor, as well as regenerative medicine and biotech firms near Virginia's research universities, would find both the oncology and tissue-engineering applications relevant.
Readiness: Lab validated
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
- Michael B. Sano, Rafael V. Davalos, John L. Robertson, Paulo A. Garcia, Robert E. Neal
- Granted
- May 7, 2024
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 11974800
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.