A new technology that may assist in the treatment of brain cancer and other neurological diseases is the subject of a recent article in the journal Technology. According to the authors, the current medical use of chemotherapy to treat brain cancer can be inefficient because of the blood-brain-barrier that impedes the delivery of drugs. In the study, the researchers indicated that they have created “a tool for blood-barrier-brain disruption that uses bursts of sub-microsecond bipolar pulses to enhance the transfer of large molecules to the brain.” The new tool, called Vascular Enabled Nanosecond pulse or VEIN pulse, will “reversibly open the blood-brain-barrier to facilitate the treatment of brain cancer.” In the animal study, the VEIN pulse treatments were administered using minimally invasive electrodes inserted into the skull of each of the 18 anesthetized male rats. They varied the pulse duration within a burst, the total number of bursts (90 to 900), and the applied field. A key element of their success was that the pulses alternated in polarity to help eliminate muscle contractions and the need for a neuromuscular blockade. To learn more about the study, click here.