OPTIMIZING TREATMENT USING TTFIELDS BY CHANGING THE FREQUENCY DURING THE COURSE OF LONG TERM TUMOR TREATMENT

摘要

Tumors can be treated with an alternating electric field. The size of cells in the tumor is determined prior to the start of treatment by, for example, biopsy or by inverse electric impedance tomography. A treatment frequency is chosen based on the determined cell size. The cell size can be determined during the course of treatment and the treatment frequency is adjusted to reflect changes in the cell size. A suitable apparatus for this purpose includes a device for measuring the tumor impedance, an AC signal generator with a controllable output frequency, a processor for estimating the size of tumor cells and setting the frequency of the AC signal generator based thereon, and at least one pair of electrodes operatively connected to the AC signal generator such that an alternating electric field is applied to the tumor.

主权项

1. A method for adaptively treating a tumor with an alternating electric field, the method comprising the steps of:
applying an alternating electric field having a first frequency to the tumor; determining an impedance of the tumor based on a measured current while the alternating electric field having the first frequency is applied; estimating a size of cells in the tumor based on the determined impedance; selecting a second frequency based on the estimated size of cells; and applying an alternating electric field to the tumor at the second frequency to treat the tumor.