Predicting irreversible electroporation-induced tissue damage by means of magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography

Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 4;7(1):10323. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-10846-5.

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is gaining importance in routine clinical practice for nonthermal ablation of solid tumors. For its success, it is extremely important that the coverage and exposure time of the treated tumor to the electric field is within the specified range. Measurement of electric field distribution during the electroporation treatment can be achieved using magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT). Here, we show improved MREIT-enabled electroporation monitoring of IRE-treated tumors by predicting IRE-ablated tumor areas during IRE of mouse tumors in vivo. The in situ prediction is enabled by coupling MREIT with a corresponding Peleg-Fermi mathematical model to obtain more informative monitoring of IRE tissue ablation by providing cell death probability in the IRE-treated tumors. This technique can potentially be used in electroporation-based clinical applications, such as IRE tissue ablation and electrochemotherapy, to improve and assure the desired treatment outcome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Electric Impedance*
  • Electroporation*
  • Female
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy*
  • Mice
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Tomography*
  • Wounds and Injuries / diagnosis
  • Wounds and Injuries / etiology*