Pulsed electric field probe for surgical tumor margin
This technology uses precisely timed bursts of electrical pulses to kill cancer cells in two distinct zones around a set of implanted electrodes. The inner zone destroys all cells indiscriminately through ablation, while the outer zone uses carefully calibrated pulse timing to selectively kill cancer cells by disrupting their internal membrane voltages while leaving healthy cells largely intact. This selective outer zone is the key innovation — it targets the microscopic tumor cells that often infiltrate the margin beyond a visible tumor and cause recurrence. The approach is non-thermal, meaning it does not rely on heat, which reduces collateral tissue damage compared to conventional ablation methods.
What you could build
A specialized ablation catheter system or surgical probe platform sold to hospitals and interventional oncology centers for solid tumor treatment — most plausibly in liver, kidney, lung, or brain cancers — that would compete with or complement existing radiofrequency and microwave ablation devices by adding a margin-clearing selective treatment zone.
Who in Virginia should care
Interventional oncology device companies, cancer research hospitals such as UVA Health or Inova, and defense/biomedical contractors in Northern Virginia with medical device divisions would be plausible partners or licensees.
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, Christopher B. Arena, Scott S. Verbridge, Rafael V. Davalos
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed July 12, 2022
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20220362549A1
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.