Cycled pulse controller that reduces thermal burns in IRE
This technology improves irreversible electroporation (IRE), a cancer treatment that uses electrical pulses to destroy tumor cells, by smarter management of how pulses are distributed across multiple electrodes. The core problem with IRE using many electrodes is that repeating pulses on the same electrode pairs too quickly generates excessive heat, which can cause unintended tissue burns rather than clean cell death. The invention solves this by cycling pulses in a round-robin sequence across all electrode pairs, ensuring no single electrode fires more than twice in a row before others take a turn, allowing heat to dissipate. The result is a treatment that maintains its cancer-killing effectiveness while reducing thermal side effects and collateral tissue damage.
What you could build
A pulse delivery controller or firmware upgrade for IRE/electroporation generator systems used in interventional oncology suites; buyers would be medical device companies that manufacture IRE platforms (e.g., ablation system OEMs) or hospitals seeking safer multi-electrode ablation protocols.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based interventional oncology centers, surgical robotics firms, or defense-adjacent biomedical device companies near the Northern Virginia/DC corridor or academic medical centers like UVA Health or Inova would be relevant commercial or clinical partners.
Readiness: Concept
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
- Timothy J. O'Brien, Robert E. Neal II, Rafael V. Davalos
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed March 19, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20240299076A1
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.