In vivo imaging of irreversible electroporation by means of electrical impedance tomography

Electroporation, the increased permeability of cell membranes due to a large transmembrane voltage, is an important clinical tool. Both reversible and irreversible in vivo electroporation are used for clinical applications such as gene therapy and solid malignant tumor ablation, respectively. The primary advantage of in vivo electroporation is the ability to treat tissue in a local and minimally invasive fashion. The drawback is the current lack of control over the process. This paper is the first report of a new method for real-time three-dimensional imaging of an in vivo electroporation process. Using two needle electrodes for irreversible electroporation and a set of electrodes for reconstructing electrical impedance tomography (EIT) images of the treated tissue, we were able to demonstrate electroporation imaging in rodent livers. Histology analysis shows good correlation between the extent of tissue damage caused by irreversible electroporation and the EIT images. This new method may lead the way to real-time control over genetic treatment of diseases in tissue and tissue ablation.