Electrode probe for reversing tumor acidity during ablation
This technology uses a carefully controlled electrical current delivered through a cathode electrode placed inside a tumor to raise the local pH of the tumor microenvironment. Solid tumors are naturally acidic, and that acidity helps them suppress the immune system and resist treatment. By running a low-level electrochemical reaction at the cathode only, the device neutralizes that acidity without needing drugs, which in turn activates immune cells (macrophages) to attack the tumor. The approach can be used alongside existing electrical cancer therapies like irreversible electroporation, or as a standalone treatment, and early ex vivo lab data supports the concept.
What you could build
A cathode-based electrode accessory or standalone probe system integrated into existing electroporation devices (e.g., NanoKnife-style platforms) that adds a pH-modulation protocol to ablation procedures; interventional oncologists and hospitals performing image-guided tumor ablation would be the buyers.
Who in Virginia should care
Northern Virginia and Richmond-area hospital systems, plus defense-adjacent biomedical device companies (given Virginia's ties to DARPA-funded bioelectronics), would have interest; UVA and Inova health systems are plausible translational partners.
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
- Rafael V. Davalos, Zaid Samer Salameh, Kenneth N. Aycock
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed April 11, 2025
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20260124444A1
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.