Rapid Impedance Spectroscopy for Monitoring Tissue Impedance, Temperature, and Treatment Outcome During Electroporation-Based Therapies

Objective: Electroporation-based therapies (EBTs) employ high voltage pulsed electric fields (PEFs) to permeabilize tumor tissue; this results in changes in electrical properties detectable using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Currently, commercial potentiostats for EIS are limited by impedance spectrum acquisition time (similar to 10 s); this timeframe is much larger than pulse periods used with EBTs (similar to 1 s). In this study, we utilize rapid EIS techniques to develop a methodology for characterizing electroporation (EP) and thermal effects associated with high-frequency irreversible EP (H-FIRE) in real-time by monitoring inter-burst impedance changes. Methods: A charge-balanced, bipolar rectangular chirp signal is proposed for rapid EIS. Validation of rapid EIS measurements against a commercial potentiostat was conducted in potato tissue using flat-plate electrodes and thereafter for the measurement of impedance changes throughout IRE treatment. Flat-plate electrodes were then utilized to uniformly heat potato tissue; throughout high-voltage H-FIRE treatment, low-voltage inter-burst impedance measurements were used to continually monitor impedance change and to identify a frequency at which thermal effects are delineated from EP effects. Results: Inter-burst impedance measurements (1.8 kHz - 4.93 MHz) were accomplished at 216 discrete frequencies. Impedance measurements at frequencies above similar to 1 MHz served to delineate thermal and EP effects in measured impedance. Conclusion: We demonstrate rapidcapture (<<1 s) EIS which enables monitoring of interburst impedance in real-time. For the first time, we show impedance analysis at high frequencies can delineate thermal effects from EP effects in measured impedance. Significance: The proposed waveform demonstrates the potential to perform inter-burst EIS using PEFs compatible with existing pulse generator topologies.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the development of a methodology for real-time monitoring of electroporation and thermal effects in high-frequency irreversible electroporation using rapid EIS techniques. The results show that impedance measurements at high frequencies can distinguish thermal effects from electroporation effects in the measured impedance.