STTR Phase I: Thermal Diffusion Studies for a Tumor Ablation Accelerant

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project is to improve outcomes for ablation, a procedure to address tumors. Currently, surgical removal is the preferred treatment for most focal tumors, but it is an invasive, expensive procedure. Thermal ablation, an alternative treatment, represents a $2 B market growing at 10% annually, even with the current limitations.

It is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that can be performed safely at a fraction of the cost; however, incomplete ablation can result in local recurrence. The proposed project improves ablation technology for low-cost treatment and improved clinical outcomes.

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project advances a human serum albumin-based formulation that can be injected to a target site to serve as a thermal accelerant. This project conducts diffusion studies, important for certain site like the highly perfused environment of the liver. This project will measure electrical conductivity and specific heat values over a wide range of temperatures (20-90 oC) to explain the enhanced temperature profile observed during the microwave ablation with the technology.

These results are essential to understanding the thermal behavior of both the technology, the thermal effect on the surrounding tissue, and the overall ablation volume and shape. These data will inform a computational model for predicting the microwave ablation patterns in a clinical setting.

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.