Medtronic Advances Ablation Technology with Multiphysics Simulation
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Emprint™ ablation system
- Thermosphere™ technology
- COMSOL Multiphysics® software
- RF Module
Tech Stack
- COMSOL Multiphysics
- MATLAB
- RF Module
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Productivity Improvements
- Customer Satisfaction
- Innovation Output
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
- Remote Control
- Remote Patient Monitoring
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Medtronic is one of the world’s premier medical technology and services companies, known for its leadership in both RF and microwave ablation technologies. The company focuses on delivering procedural solutions that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. With a dedicated team of around 40 staff members in the Early Technologies unit of Medtronic’s Minimally Invasive Therapies Group (MITG), the company is committed to advancing ablation technology. Medtronic's mission is to provide innovative medical solutions that improve patient outcomes and enhance the effectiveness of medical procedures. The company leverages advanced technologies and simulation software to develop new ablation probes and optimize their performance.
The Challenge
Physicians rate predictability as their number one concern with ablation performance. The higher the level of predictability, the easier it is for a physician to plan a treatment procedure that will be safer, more effective, and less time-consuming. RF ablation procedures face challenges due to varying electrical conductivities of tissues and the rapid decrease in electrical conductivity as tissue temperature approaches 100°C. This makes it difficult to generate temperatures high enough to cause cell breakdown. MW ablation technology attempts to overcome these limitations by using an EM field radiated into the tissue. However, tissue type and vaporization of water during ablation cause the size and shape of the EM field to vary, affecting predictability.
The Solution
Medtronic’s latest innovation, the Emprint™ ablation system with Thermosphere™ technology, offers more predictable and repeatable results than other techniques and devices. Thermosphere™ technology enables precise control of an EM field independent of the surrounding tissue environment, allowing clinicians to accurately predict the boundaries and characteristics of the ablation zone. The team is using COMSOL Multiphysics® software to develop new ablation probes to achieve even higher levels of predictable performance and effectiveness. One development-stage project aims to optimize the design of these probes to create a more precise ablation zone and provide real-time feedback using radiometers. Radiometers measure EM radiation and enable the characterization of the spatial distribution of an EM field, giving clinicians real-time feedback about the ablation zone. This allows fine-tuning of the zone during the procedure, ensuring targeted tissue destruction while minimizing effects on surrounding healthy tissue.
Operational Impact
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