US 8,298,222 B2 · Electroporation to deliver chemotherapeutics and enhance tumor regression

Abstract

A method is disclosed for disrupting capillary blood flow and trapping materials such as chemotherapeutic agents in undesirable tissue, including cells of a cancerous or non-cancerous tumor. The method involves the placement of electrodes into or near the vicinity of capillary vessels supplying blood to capillaries in the undesirable tissue, and application of electrical pulses causing capillary blood flow disruption. In some cases, the electric pulses irreversibly permeate the cell membranes, thereby invoking cell death. The irreversibly permeabilized cells are left in situ and are removed by the body's immune system. The process may further comprise monitoring blood flow and/or infusion of a material such as a chemotherapeutic agent or marker into the blood.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method of disrupting capillary blood flow and facilitating the permeation of an agent into a target area of tissue, comprising the steps of:

(a) identifying a target tissue comprised of capillaries;
(b) placing a first electrode and a second electrode such that capillaries of the target tissue are positioned between the first and second electrodes;
(c) administering an agent to a vessel at a point upstream of the capillaries of the target tissue;
and
(d) after administering the agent, applying electrical pulses between the first and second electrode to intentionally cause irreversible electroporation of cells of the capillaries of the target tissue, and disrupt blood flow through the capillaries of the target tissue, thereby trapping the agent in the capillaries and facilitating the permeation of the agent into cells of the target tissue.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electroporation to deliver chemotherapeutics and enhance tumor regression

Life of this patent

Electroporation to deliver chemotherapeutics and enhance tumor regression

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18