Apparatus and method for treating a tumor with an alternating electric field and selecting a treatment frequency based on an estimated cell size

摘要

Tumors can be treated with an alternating electric field. The size of the cells in the tumor is determined prior to the start of treatment (1110) and a treatment frequency is selected based on the determined cell size (1120). Cell size can be estimated in the course of treatment and the treatment frequency is adjusted to reflect changes in cell size. A suitable apparatus for this purpose includes a device for measuring the impedance of a tumor, an AC signal generator with a controllable output frequency, and an estimation of the size of the tumor cell based on the size of the tumor cell. A processor for setting the frequency and at least a pair of electrodes operatively connected to the AC signal generator such that an alternating electric field is applied to the tumor. [Selection] Figure 11