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Home > IRE Technology > IRE Overview
Conventional ElectroPoration Therapy (aka EPT) is defined by the National Cancer Institute as “treatment that generates electrical pulses through an electrode placed in a tumor to enhance the ability of anticancer drugs to enter tumor cells.” It is intended to enhance the effect of Chemotherapy by allowing the anticancer drugs to enter the cell more easily via microscopic pores created in the lipid cell membranes by subjecting them to electrical pulses. When the pulses end, the microscopic pores close and the anticancer drugs have their effect on the cell
The revolutionary development is direct cell death induced by high energy electrical pulses which is now known as “IRreversible Electroporation” or IRE. An irreversibly electroporated cell has been subjected to an electrical pulse or pulses that have opened the microscopic pores permanently which causes the cell to die from the microscopic damage to its cell membrane. Once the cell membrane pores are opened permanently, the resulting tumor cell death is no longer associated with the toxicity of anticancer drugs (chemotherapy), but is directly induced by the effect of the electrical pulses themselves. These electrical pulses are delivered via a needle or needles that are placed in a minimally invasive way in or around the area to be treated.
On May 15th, 2008 AngioDynamics announced it closed the process of acquiring a Berkeley, CA company, Oncobionic, which has pioneered IRE. Pre-clinical activity has focused on the focal treatment of various cancers and benign diseases. The pre-clinical trials were sufficient to allow the Oncobionic system to already be granted a 510k by the FDA for “…surgical ablation of soft tissue, including cardiac and smooth muscle.”
AngioDynamics is also assembling a comprehensive program to investigate and commercialize IRE for some of the largest indications in benign diseases, malignant diseases, adjunctive intravascular procedures, and aesthetics to fully exploit the non-thermal and selective necrosis mechanisms apparent with IRE.
The Company will be leveraging strong physician relationships at existing world-class healthcare institutions as well as forming new investigator relationships required to fully understand, harness , clinically develop, and commercialize the potential of IRE to improve the human condition and build shareholder value in the process.
Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment
www.tcrt.org
MedicalPhysicsWeb
www.medicalphysicsweb.org
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