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Impact of tissue-electrode contact force on irreversible electroporation for atrial fibrillation in potato models

Tiantian Hu, Yingfan Yuan, Mengying Zhan, Binyu Wang, Lin Mao, Yu Zhou


School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China. 


Address correspondence to: Yu Zhou, School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, NO.516, Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, China. Tel: 18021042556, E-mail: zhouyu@usst.edu.cn.


Acknowledgements: This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51901137).


DOI: https://doi.org/10.61189/061485jysfwu


Received August 22, 2023; Accepted November 28, 2023; Published December 31, 2023


Highlights

● A strong positive correlation was identified in the investigation of the relationship between contact force and irreversible electroporation (IRE) efficacy for tissue ablation. 

● This research conducted on potato models highlights the importance of optimizing electrode contact force in IRE for applications in atrial fibrillation treatment.

● Our findings provide insights into the design of advanced IRE ablation protocols and facilitate the clinical development and translation of this technology for effective atrial fibrillation treatment.

Abstract

Background: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is an emerging tissue ablation technique that offers advantages over traditional catheter ablation, such as minimal thermal damage and reduced treatment time. However, as this technique also involves delivering energy through a catheter to target tissue, there are still challenges regarding the contact between the catheter and the targeted tissue, and there is a lack of relevant studies. In this study, we examined this issue using potato models with three groups of experiments. Methods: First, the relationship between the effect of biphasic and monophasic output modes and contact force (CF) was studied. Next, the effect of different voltages on biphasic output mode was examined. Finally, impedance analysis was conducted to test the contact impedance under different CFs. Results: The IRE ablation efficacy increased with the increase of CF in both monophasic and biphasic output modes, and there was a strong correlation between the ablation efficacy and the CF. In addition, at three voltage levels, the IRE ablation efficacy increased with increasing CF, and there was a strong correlation between the ablation efficacy and the CF. Conclusion: The results indicate that, under common IRE electrical parameter configuration, the effect of IRE on the tissue has a positive response to the CF of the electrode in the potato model. This finding has important implications for the design of electrodes used in IRE for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Keywords: Irreversible electroporation ablation, tissue-electrode contact force, atrial fibrillation, catheter ablation, potato

Hu TT, Yuan YF, Zhan MY, et al. Impact of tissue-electrode contact force on irreversible electroporation for atrial fibrillation in potato models.  Prog in Med Devices. 2023 Dec;1(3):163-174. doi: 10.61189/061485jysfwu. 
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