# An Intraoperative Guidance Platform for Radio Frequency Ablation

> **NIH NIH R44** · NE SCIENTIFIC, INC. · 2020 · $153,509

## Abstract

Project Summary:
The objective of this proposed research program is to develop a platform for planning and guidance during
Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA). RFA is a thermally mediated ablation technique, where an applicator carrying
one electrode is inserted into tumors percutaneously (or via laparoscopy, or open surgical approaches). Radio
Frequency (RF) energy is applied, denaturating and coagulating tissues in a volume of 2cm to 5cm of
diameter. Some RFA electrodes are shaped as straight needles; others deploy an umbrella of tines to ablate a
larger volume. RFA is attractive as it can be used percutaneously resulting minimally invasive. RFA is a widely
accepted cancer treatment therapy, and is applied to primary and secondary tumors in different organs,
including liver, lung, kidney, breast, and in musculoskeletal interventions. RFA is often the preferred treatment
option for inoperable patients.
The typical approach for RFA is percutaneous. Physicians therefore have no direct view of the location of
electrodes and of tissues. CT and Ultrasound are used intraoperatively to track the location of electrodes, but
both CT and Ultrasound (US) have limited ability to visualize the necrotization of tissues under RFA. It is hard
therefore to assess which tissues have been treated and which not. Currently physicians rely on “mental maps”
of where they have previously ablated tissues and estimate where to go next. The necrotization volume is also
“mentally estimated” from lesion geometry charts provided in print by electrode manufacturers. These charts
show the expected ablation geometry for a uniform tissue and do not account for the anatomy or the presence
of blood vessels, which can modify and reduce the ablation volume as they transport heat away.
The overarching goal of this program is to develop a platform for pre-operative planning and intraoperative
RFA guidance, based on simulation of the electrical / thermal effects of RFA and real-time intraoperative
prediction of necrotization patterns. Image fusion of RFA simulations onto CT intraoperative images would
constitute a guidance system able to show which tissues have been treated and which not, allowing the
physicians to properly repositions electrodes and achieve consistent overlap. This would improve outcomes of
RFA particularly for patients with tumors greater than 2cm, for which total necrotization has been shown to be
particularly hard to achieve without guidance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147552
- **Project number:** 3R44CA189515-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** NE SCIENTIFIC, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrea Borsic
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $153,509
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2014-08-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147552

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147552, An Intraoperative Guidance Platform for Radio Frequency Ablation (3R44CA189515-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147552. Licensed CC0.

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