School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/23274
The Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES) is a unique collaboration between Wake Forest University and Virginia Tech whose purpose is to "provide a framework for the generation and dissemination of knowledge through research and education for the improvement of human and animal health through cooperative advancement in engineering, science and medicine." Through the Graduate Schools of Wake Forest University and Virginia Tech, SBES provides a program for graduate education in biomedical engineering leading to an M.S., a Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D., or a DVM/Ph.D. The Graduate Schools have agreed on the common requirements for acceptance and graduation, and the final degree is conferred from both universities. This unique agreement demonstrates the commitment that the universities have for this program and provides a rich and varied environment for education and research.

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Browsing School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences by Author "Andre, Franck"

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    Tumor Ablation with Irreversible Electroporation
    Al-Sakere, Bassim; Andre, Franck; Bernat, Claire; Connault, Elisabeth; Opolon, Paule; Davalos, Rafael V.; Rubinsky, Boris; Mir, Lluis M. (PLOS, 2007-11-07)
    We report the first successful use of irreversible electroporation for the minimally invasive treatment of aggressive cutaneous tumors implanted in mice. Irreversible electroporation is a newly developed non-thermal tissue ablation technique in which certain short duration electrical fields are used to permanently permeabilize the cell membrane, presumably through the formation of nanoscale defects in the cell membrane. Mathematical models of the electrical and thermal fields that develop during the application of the pulses were used to design an efficient treatment protocol with minimal heating of the tissue. Tumor regression was confirmed by histological studies which also revealed that it occurred as a direct result of irreversible cell membrane permeabilization. Parametric studies show that the successful outcome of the procedure is related to the applied electric field strength, the total pulse duration as well as the temporal mode of delivery of the pulses. Our best results were obtained using plate electrodes to deliver across the tumor 80 pulses of 100 µs at 0.3 Hz with an electrical field magnitude of 2500 V/cm. These conditions induced complete regression in 12 out of 13 treated tumors, (92%), in the absence of tissue heating. Irreversible electroporation is thus a new effective modality for non-thermal tumor ablation.