STTR Phase I: Thermal Diffusion Studies for a Tumor Ablation Accelerant

该小企业技术转让计划（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是改善消融术（一种治疗肿瘤的手术）的结局。目前，手术切除是大多数局灶性肿瘤的首选治疗方法，但它是一种侵入性的、昂贵的手术。 热消融是一种替代治疗方法，即使在目前的限制下，也代表着每年以10%的速度增长20 B美元的市场。这是一种微创门诊手术，可以安全地进行，费用很低;但是，不完全消融可能导致局部复发。拟议项目改进了消融技术，以实现低成本治疗并改善临床结局。这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目推进了一种基于人血清白蛋白的制剂，可以注射到目标部位作为热促进剂。该项目进行扩散研究，对某些部位如肝脏的高灌注环境很重要。该项目将测量广泛温度范围（20-90 ℃）内的电导率和比热值，以解释在微波消融过程中观察到的增强温度曲线。这些结果对于理解技术的热行为、对周围组织的热效应以及整体消融体积和形状至关重要。这些数据将为预测临床环境中微波消融模式的计算模型提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project is to improve outcomes for ablation, a procedure to address tumors. Currently, surgical removal is the preferred treatment for most focal tumors, but it is an invasive, expensive procedure. Thermal ablation, an alternative treatment, represents a $2 B market growing at 10% annually, even with the current limitations. It is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that can be performed safely at a fraction of the cost; however, incomplete ablation can result in local recurrence. The proposed project improves ablation technology for low-cost treatment and improved clinical outcomes. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project advances a human serum albumin-based formulation that can be injected to a target site to serve as a thermal accelerant. This project conducts diffusion studies, important for certain site like the highly perfused environment of the liver. This project will measure electrical conductivity and specific heat values over a wide range of temperatures (20-90 oC) to explain the enhanced temperature profile observed during the microwave ablation with the technology. These results are essential to understanding the thermal behavior of both the technology, the thermal effect on the surrounding tissue, and the overall ablation volume and shape. These data will inform a computational model for predicting the microwave ablation patterns in a clinical setting.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.