An in vivo study of a custom-made high-frequency irreversible electroporation generator on different tissues for clinically relevant ablation zones

Abstract

Purpose To examine the ablation zone, muscle contractions, and temperature increases in both rabbit liver and kidney models in vivo for a custom-made high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) generator. Materials and Methods A total of 18 New Zealand white rabbits were used to investigate five H-FIRE protocols (n = 3 for each protocol) and an IRE protocol (n = 3) for the performance of the designed H-FIRE device in both liver and kidney tissues. The ablation zone was determined by using histological analysis 72 h after treatment. The extent of muscle contractions and temperature change during the application of pulse energy were measured by a commercial accelerometer attached to animals and fiber optic temperature probe inserted into organs with IRE electrodes, respectively. Results All H-FIRE protocols were able to generate visible ablation zones without muscle contractions, for both liver and kidney tissues. The area of ablation zone generated in H-FIRE pulse protocols (e.g., 0.3–1 μs, 2000 V, and 90–195 bursts) appears similar to that of IRE protocol (100 μs, 1000 V, and 90 pulses) in both liver and kidney tissues. No significant temperature increase was noticed except for the protocol with the highest pulse energy (e.g., 1 μs, 2000 V, and 180 bursts). Conclusion Our work serves to complement the current H-FIRE pulse waveforms, which can be optimized to significantly improve the quality of ablation zone in terms of precision for liver and kidney tumors in clinical setting.

Keywords

• high-frequency irreversible electroporation
• ablation evaluation
• muscle contraction
• temperature increase
• rabbit model