Avoiding neuromuscular stimulation in liver irreversible electroporation using radiofrequency electric fields

Electroporation based treatments typically consist in applying high voltage dc pulses. As an undesired side effect, these dc pulses cause electrical stimulation of excitable tissues such as motor nerves. In the present in vivo study, it was explored the use of bursts of sinusoidal voltage in the fre...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Castellví Fernández, Quim, Mercadal, Borja, Moll, Xavier, Fondevila, Dolors, Andaluz, Anna, Ivorra Cano, Antoni, 1974-
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/33526
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/33526
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/aaa16f
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Electroporation
Irreversible electroporation
Ablation
Radiofrequency electric fields
Sinusoidal voltages
Descrição
Resumo:Electroporation based treatments typically consist in applying high voltage dc pulses. As an undesired side effect, these dc pulses cause electrical stimulation of excitable tissues such as motor nerves. In the present in vivo study, it was explored the use of bursts of sinusoidal voltage in the frequency range from 50 kHz to 2 MHz to induce irreversible electroporation (IRE) whilst avoiding neuromuscular stimulation. Series of 100 dc pulses or sinusoidal bursts, both with an individual duration of 100 μs, were delivered to rabbit liver through thin needles in a monopolar electrode configuration and thoracic movements were recorded with an accelerometer. Tissue samples were harvested three hours after treatment and later postprocessed to determine the dimensions of the IRE lesions. Thermal damage due to Joule heating was ruled out via computer simulations. Sinusoidal bursts with a frequency equal or above 100 kHz did not cause thoracic movements and induced lesions equivalent to those obtained with conventional dc pulses when the applied voltage amplitude was sufficiently high. IRE efficacy dropped with increasing frequency. For 100 kHz bursts, it was estimated that the electric field threshold for IRE is about 1.4 kV/cm whereas that of dc pulses is about 0.5 kV/cm.