A Comprehensive Characterization of Parameters Affecting High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation Lesions

Several focal therapies are being investigated clinically to treat tumors in which surgery is contraindicated. Many of these ablation techniques, such as radiofrequency ablation and microwave ablation, rely on thermal damage mechanisms which can put critical nerves or vasculature at risk. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a minimally invasive, non-thermal technique to destroy tumors. A series of short electric pulses create nanoscale defects in the cell membrane, eventually leading to cell death. Typical IRE protocols deliver a series of 50–100 µ s monopolar pulses. High frequency IRE (H-FIRE) aims to replace these monopolar pulses with integrated bursts of 0.25–10 µ s bipolar pulses. Here, we examine ablations created using a broad array of IRE and H-FIRE protocols in a potato tissue phantom model. Our results show that H-FIRE pulses require a higher energy dose to create equivalent lesions to standard IRE treatment protocols. We show that ablations in potato do not increase when more than 40 H-FIRE bursts are delivered. These results show that H-FIRE treatment protocols can be optimized to produce clinically relevant lesions while maintaining the benefits of a non-thermal ablation technique.