The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project centers around cancer treatment using wireless radiofrequency. Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive procedure where surgeons burn tissue inside the body using electricity. Ablation treatment has been applied in several medical disciplines including oncology, cardiology, dermatology, pain management, etc.According to the National Cancer Institute, there were more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer in 2017 and approximately 600,000 cancer patients died. Many of these cancer patients can be treated with ablation therapy. A significant amount of funding is invested in cancer care, with $125 billion spent in 2010 alone; this number is estimated to reach $156 billion in 2020. Other diseases have similar numbers of affected patents and high amounts of care expenditures as well. This I-Corps program will provide opportunities for the team to explore various avenues for the commercialization of their wireless radiofrequency ablation technology that has broad application in many treatment areas.
This I-Corps project is the first wireless radiofrequency ablation device designed to streamline and simplify the current ablation procedure. Using the principle of magnetic resonance, a wirelessly powered radiofrequency ablation device simply includes an ablation generator and a needle. The ablation generator serves as a transmitting circuit that wirelessly sends power to the needle's receiving coil. The receiving coil is connected to the electrodes at the needle tip that ablates tumor tissue in contact. Existing ablation methods have multiple wires tethered to the ablation equipment that limit the surgeon's dexterity to position the ablation needles during the procedure. The weight and dragging of the wires could increase patient setup time and cause potential tissue laceration. Also, a limited number of ablation needles can be used simultaneously, making it time consuming to ablate large tumors. This project's wireless ablation technology requires no wires and allows an unlimited number of ablation needles during the procedure. An initial prototype has been developed to prove the concept of wireless ablation and tests have been performed to prove the concept of the proposed technology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
