# Bronchoscope-guided microwave ablation of early-stage lung tumors

> **NIH NIH R01** · KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $200,864

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In this Industry-Academic partnership R01 research plan, we propose the development, optimization,
and pilot first-in-human evaluation of a bronchoscope-guided microwave ablation (MWA) system for
rapid and conformal thermal ablation of early stage pulmonary tumors. Minimally-invasive, image-
guided MWA is a cost-effective treatment for thermal destruction of unresectable tumors in the liver,
lung, kidney, and other organs. Current MWA technology for pulmonary tumors is limited to a
percutaneous approach, which precludes treatment of central tumors and has a high associated risk of
pneumothorax. Furthermore, limited intra-procedural feedback and lack of guidance and treatment
planning tools places a substantial burden on the physician to precisely position applicators and ensure
adequate ablation of the target, while limiting damage to non-targets. Virtual bronchoscopy and
navigation, pioneered by Broncus Medical (industrial partner), affords accurate, minimally-invasive
access to early-stage pulmonary tumors, with minimal risk of pneumothorax, compared to a
percutaneous approach. The team at Kansas State University (academic partner) will develop
optimized flexible microwave applicators for delivering localized thermal ablation to pulmonary tumors
via a bronchoscopic approach. The proposed MWA devices include antennas with directional control of
microwave power deposition for precise ablation of small targets, and will be extensively evaluated with
computational models and experimentally, on the benchtop, and in an in vivo animal model. Transient
changes in antenna impedance matching will be exploited as a feedback parameter for assessing
ablation progress. A machine-learning based treatment planning and guidance platform will be
developed and integrated with Broncus’ Archimedes planning and virtual bronchoscopy platform to
guide the selection of optimal treatment parameters. The integrated system will be translated for first-in-
human studies to evaluate the feasibility and safety of bronchoscopically delivering MWA for targeting
pulmonary tumors (subaward with University of British Columbia, through Broncus Medical). The
central hypothesis of this research is that a bronchoscopic MWA system integrating: (1) applicators with
directional control of ablation profiles; (2) impedance-based intra-procedural feedback; and (3)
bronchoscopic guidance and treatment planning tools, will afford the safe and effective treatment of
localized early-stage pulmonary tumors. The proposed research will lead to the development of an
integrated system for bronchoscopic ablation of pulmonary tumors, and its pilot feasibility assessment
in human patients. If successful, this work will considerably expand the range of patients with lung
tumors that can be treated with a cost-effective, minimally-invasive approach.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10312004
- **Project number:** 5R01CA218357-05
- **Recipient organization:** KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Punit Prakash
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $200,864
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10312004

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10312004, Bronchoscope-guided microwave ablation of early-stage lung tumors (5R01CA218357-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10312004. Licensed CC0.

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