A preliminary study of balloon electrodes for the treatment of superficial malignancies in a potato model

Advancements in minimally invasive surgery have made local ablation treatment an important option for tumor therapy. For tumors that are difficult to completely remove, traditional surgical methods often fail to avoid residual lesions, increasing the risk of recurrence. To further improve the precision and efficacy of local tumor ablation, this study developed a novel device that combines a balloon catheter with flexible electrodes, utilizing IRE technology for treatment. The device was fabricated using MEMS technology, attaching flexible electrodes to an inflatable balloon to adapt to complex tissue geometries and achieve precise ablation. The performance of the device was validated through experiments in a potato model and COMSOL simulations. The experiments demonstrated that the ablation area and depth increased with voltage, and the experimental results were highly consistent with the simulations. In the "V"-shaped ablation experiment, the device showed the capability to achieve complex ablation shapes without movement. The device has flexible programmability and high control precision, providing new possibilities for the local treatment of postoperative cavities in glioblastoma and skin tumors. The results of this study provide important technical references for the future clinical application of IRE.