Electrolytic ablation dose planning methodology

Abstract

Electrolytic ablation (EA), a medical treatment increasingly used in solid tumor ablation, consists in the passage of a low direct electric current through two or more electrodes inserted in the tissue thus inducing pH fronts that destroys the tumor. The combined use of EA with a recently introduced one-probe two electrode device (OPTED) results in a minimally invasive tissue ablation technique. Despite its success related to low cost and minimum side effects, EA has drawbacks such as the difficulty in determining the current and time needed to assure total tumor ablation while avoiding healthy tissue intrusion. Here we introduce a realistic dose planning methodology in terms of the coulomb dosage administered and the associated pH tracking, that predicts an optimal EA/OPTED protocol treatment for a given tumor size, that is, the current and exposition time necessary to succeed in eliminating all the tumor mass while minimizing healthy tissue damage.