Program Information
Electric Field-InducedAcoustic Tomography (EAT)
A Zarafshani1*, (1) University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Presentations
SU-K-601-16 (Sunday, July 30, 2017) 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: 601
Purpose: The use of electrical energy in medical treatment is rapidly growing. The technique uses an ultra-short and intense electric pulse (EP) to increase the membrane permeability allowing non-permeant drugs or genes access to the cell interior (cytosol) via nanopores in the cell plasma membrane. Various techniques have been suggested for characterization of the electric field distribution in membrane electropermobilization procedures, i.e. confocal microscopy, MR-imaging, US-imaging, EIT, and MREIT. However, all monitoring techniques for electroporation currently are for pre-and post-stimulation exposure with no real-time monitoring process during electric field exposure. The purpose of this study is to develop an innovative technology for in situ monitoring of the electric field distribution in real time based on the electric-induced acoustic effect.
Methods: A high-intensity, ultra-short EP at a repetition frequency up to kHz is designed to energize two electrodes with an adjustable setup in bi-polar pulses to generate a variety of electric fields. The typical cell exposure correspondingly causes the electric charge to induce acoustic signals. A 500 kHz ultrasound transducer is used for collecting acoustic signals around the subject under test, then the collected acoustic signals will be processed and analyzed after the experiments.
Results: We demonstrated a different electric field distribution by varying the pulse width between 10us to100ns, varying the voltage intensity from 0~1.2KV and varying the distance between the electrodes. The variety of electric field intensities caused an increase in the amplitude of acoustic signals. We also demonstrated the relative location of the acoustic signals by movement of the transducer from the location of electrodes in three dimensions x, y, and z.
Conclusion: Real-time, fast feedback, and high sensitivity characterization of the electric field distribution during electrotherapy will improve its precision and efficiency and benefit the patient in the clinic.
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