Method for treatment planning of tissue ablation by irreversible electroporation

摘要

Irreversible electroporation has in recent years emerged as a promising new tissue ablation method. Successful tissue ablation by irreversible electroporation requires that the entire target tissue volume is subjected to a sufficiently high electric field, while the electric field in the surrounding healthy tissue is as low as possible to prevent damage. Both can be achieved by appropriate positioning of the electrodes and appropriate choice of electric parameters. We used a 3D finite element numerical models and a genetic optimization algorithm to determine the optimum electrode positioning and optimum amplitude of electric pulses for ablation of a realistic subcutaneous tumor model that was acquired from medical images. The calculated optimum treatment parameters predicted adequate electric field distribution in the whole tumor volume and minimal damage to the adjacent organ at risk. Our treatment planning method could be a useful tool in the clinical electroporation-based tissue ablation, e.g. treatment ofcancer.