Evaluation of mulitprobe radiofrequency technology in a porcine model

Objective. We evaluated two new radiofrequency devices in an in vivo porcine model. Materials and methods. Multiprobe radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was used in a porcine model with an impedance-based algorithm in one experiment and clustered probes with and without switcher controllers in another; a Pringle maneuver was used with half of the ablations. Results. The impedance experiment included 13 ablations, with a mean length of 7.0 cm and width of 2.9 cm (95% CI) and an average time of 596 s. Ablation volumes were significantly larger (54.1±11.7 cc3 vs 34.9±4.8 cc3, p<0.05) and ablation times were significantly shorter (359 s vs 834 s, p<0.05) for the Pringle group compared with the No Pringle group, respectively. The switcher controller experiment included 34 RFAs. Diameter (mm) (51.4 vs 40.3, p<0.0001), surface area (cm2) (22.4 vs 16.0, p<0.0002), and volume (cc) (66.1 vs 36.9, p<0.0001) were significantly larger for the combination probes with switcher controller compared with clustered probes, respectively. Ablation volumes for the Pringle vs No Pringle groups in the combination probes were 68.0 cc vs 64.3 cc and for the clustered probes 40.1 cc vs. 33.7 cc, respectively. Conclusion. Multiprobe ablations using RFA are promising technologies that need further study to evaluate their clinical utility.