Study on the electric field transmission characteristics of conducted-electrode tumor treating fields_Journal of Biomedical Engineering

Authors：

LIU Kaida ¹ , ZHANG Junxia ² , SHI Jiaqi ¹ , FANG Haohan ¹ ,  LI Xing ¹

1. College of Automation Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, P. R. China;
2. The First Affiliated Hospital with Nan Jing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, P. R. China;

Corresponding author：

LI Xing, Email: nuaalixing@nuaa.edu.cn

Keywords：

Tumor treating fields; Conducted electrode; Electric field transmission; Tumor inhibition

DOI：

10.7507/1001-5515.202503059

Video：

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Tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy is an innovative tumor treatment modality. Currently, the TTF devices predominantly employ insulated ceramic electrodes as the electric field transmission medium, resulting in low energy transfer efficiency of the electric field and poor portability of the devices. This study proposed an innovative TTF transmission mode and independently designed a conducted-electrode TTF cell culture dish utilizing inert titanium materials. The electric field conduction characteristics were verified through finite element simulations and experimental tests. Finally, based on the self-manufactured conducted-electrode TTF cell culture dish, experiments on the proliferation inhibition of U87 tumor cells by TTF were conducted. The results demonstrated that under an applied TTF voltage of 10 V and frequency of 200 kHz, the electric field intensities within the medium for conducted and insulated electrodes are approximately 2.5 V/cm and 0.7 V/cm, respectively. Compared to conventional insulated TTF systems, the conducted-electrode TTF configuration exhibited a lower electrode voltage drop and a higher electric field intensity in the culture medium, indicating superior electric field transmission efficiency. Following 36 hours of treatment with conducted-electrode TTF on U87 cells, the proliferation inhibition rate reached approximately 50%, demonstrating effective suppression of tumor cell growth. This approach presents a potential direction for optimizing TTF treatment modality and device design.

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8.	Sarkari A, Korenfeld S, Deniz K, et al. Treatment with tumor-treating fields (TTFields) suppresses intercellular tunneling nanotube formation in vitro and upregulates immuno-oncologic biomarkers in vivo in malignant mesothelioma. Elife, 2023, 12: e85383.
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10.	Yu A, Zeng J, Yu J, et al. Theory and application of TTFields in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. CNS Neurosci Ther, 2024, 30(3): e14563.
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23.	Swaminathan N, Priyanka P, Rathore A S, et al. Cole-Cole modeling of real-time capacitance data for estimation of cell physiological properties in recombinant Escherichia coli cultivation. Biotechnol Bioeng, 2022, 119(3): 922-935.
24.	Mattana E, Lodi M B, Simone M, et al. Cole-Cole model for the dielectric characterization of healthy skin and basal cell carcinoma at THz frequencies. IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol, 2024, 5: 600-606.
25.	Khan S, Goswami S, Feng F, et al. Probing tissue viscoelasticity with STL ultrasound shearwave spectroscopy using Cole-Cole diagrams. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 2024, 71(3): 916-928.
26.	Mkilima T, Saspugayeva G, Tussupova Z, et al. Electrode material impact on microbial fuel cell and electro-Fenton systems for enhanced slaughterhouse wastewater treatment: A comparative study of graphite and titanium. Water Environ Res, 2024, 96(2): e10989.
27.	Ma X, Li M, Meng F, et al. Efficient nano titanium electrode via a two-step electrochemical anodization with reconstructed nanotubes: Electrochemical activity and stability. Chemosphere, 2018, 202: 177-183.
28.	Del Castillo R, Chochlidakis K, Galindo-Moreno P, et al. Titanium nitride coated implant abutments: From technical aspects and soft tissue biocompatibility to clinical applications. A literature review. J Prosthodont, 2022, 31(7): 571-578.
29.	An H W, Lee J, Park J W. Surface characteristics and in vitro biocompatibility of surface-modified titanium foils as a regenerative barrier membrane for guided bone regeneration. J Biomater Appl, 2023, 37(7): 1228-1242.
30.	Goyal K, Borkholder D A, Day S W. Dependence of skin-electrode contact impedance on material and skin hydration. Sensors (Basel), 2022, 22(21): 8510.
31.	Berndt A, Pospiech D, Jehnichen D, et al. Methacrylate copolymers with liquid crystalline side chains for organic gate dielectric applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2015, 7(23): 12339-12347.
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33.	Pohling C, Nguyen H, Chang E, et al. Current status of the preclinical evaluation of alternating electric fields as a form of cancer therapy. Bioelectrochemistry, 2023, 149: 108287.

1. Palti Y, Vallejo R L, Purcell M K, et al. Genome-wide association analysis of the resistance to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in two rainbow trout aquaculture lines confirms oligogenic architecture with several moderate effect quantitative trait loci. Front Genet, 2024, 15: 1394656.
2. Rominiyi O, Vanderlinden A, Clenton S J, et al. Tumour treating fields therapy for glioblastoma: current advances and future directions. Br J Cancer, 2021, 124(4): 697-709.
3. Lan Y, Zhang S, Pan Y, et al. Research progress on the mechanism of anti-tumor immune response induced by TTFields. Cancers (Basel), 2023, 15(23): 5642.
4. Ballo M T, Conlon P, Lavy-Shahaf G, et al. Association of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy with survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurooncol, 2023, 164(1): 1-9.
5. Davidi S, Jacobovitch S, Shteingauz A, et al. Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) concomitant with sorafenib inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Cancers (Basel), 2022, 14(12): 2959.
6. Jones T H, Song J W, Abushahin L. Tumor treating fields: An emerging treatment modality for thoracic and abdominal cavity cancers. Transl Oncol, 2022, 15(1): 101296.
7. Khagi S, Kotecha R, Gatson N T N, et al. Recent advances in Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy for glioblastoma. Oncologist, 2025, 30(2): oyae227.
8. Sarkari A, Korenfeld S, Deniz K, et al. Treatment with tumor-treating fields (TTFields) suppresses intercellular tunneling nanotube formation in vitro and upregulates immuno-oncologic biomarkers in vivo in malignant mesothelioma. Elife, 2023, 12: e85383.
9. 蔺春杨, 贾晓琼, 成志楠, 等. 肿瘤电场治疗在非小细胞肺癌中的研究进展. 中国当代医药, 2024, 31(6): 170-173.
10. Yu A, Zeng J, Yu J, et al. Theory and application of TTFields in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. CNS Neurosci Ther, 2024, 30(3): e14563.
11. Li X, Liu K, Xing L, et al. A review of tumor treating fields (TTFields): advancements in clinical applications and mechanistic insights. Radiol Oncol, 2023, 57(3): 279-291.
12. Ghazavi A, Troyk P R, Cogan S F. Parasitic capacitance in high-density neural electrode arrays: Sources and evaluation methods. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 2025, 72(2): 794-802.
13. Butson C R, McIntyre C C. Tissue and electrode capacitance reduce neural activation volumes during deep brain stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol, 2005, 116(10): 2490-2500.
14. Murphy J, Bowers M E, Barron L. Optune®: Practical nursing applications. Clin J Oncol Nurs, 2016, 20(5 Suppl): S14-S19.
15. Wang L, Chen C, Xiao Y, et al. Personalized optimization strategy for electrode array layout in TTFields of glioblastoma. Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng, 2024, 40(10): e3859.
16. Xiao Y, Chen C, Wang L, et al. Improved WSO algorithm to optimize electrode array for the personalized treatment of liver cancer in TTFields. Biomed Signal Proces, 2024, 95(B): 106443.
17. Li X, Oziel M, Rubinsky B. Evaluating the therapeutic effect of tumor treating fields (TTFields) by monitoring the impedance across TTFields electrode arrays. PeerJ, 2022, 10: e12877.
18. Cao X, Li J, Ren J, et al. Minimally-invasive implantable device enhances brain cancer suppression. EMBO Mol Med, 2024, 16(7): 1704-1716.
19. Berkelmann L, Bader A, Meshksar S, et al. Tumour-treating fields (TTFields): Investigations on the mechanism of action by electromagnetic exposure of cells in telophase/cytokinesis. Sci Rep, 2019, 9(1): 7362.
20. 马俊. 中频交变电流对人乳腺癌(MCF-7)抑制作用的初步探究. 北京: 北京中医大学, 2014.
21. Tithof J, Pruett T L, Rao J S. Lumped parameter liver simulation to predict acute haemodynamic alterations following partial resections. J R Soc Interface, 2023, 20(207): 20230444.
22. Harkos C, Hadjigeorgiou A G, Voutouri C, et al. Using mathematical modelling and AI to improve delivery and efficacy of therapies in cancer. Nat Rev Cancer, 2025, 25(5): 324-340.
23. Swaminathan N, Priyanka P, Rathore A S, et al. Cole-Cole modeling of real-time capacitance data for estimation of cell physiological properties in recombinant Escherichia coli cultivation. Biotechnol Bioeng, 2022, 119(3): 922-935.
24. Mattana E, Lodi M B, Simone M, et al. Cole-Cole model for the dielectric characterization of healthy skin and basal cell carcinoma at THz frequencies. IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol, 2024, 5: 600-606.
25. Khan S, Goswami S, Feng F, et al. Probing tissue viscoelasticity with STL ultrasound shearwave spectroscopy using Cole-Cole diagrams. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 2024, 71(3): 916-928.
26. Mkilima T, Saspugayeva G, Tussupova Z, et al. Electrode material impact on microbial fuel cell and electro-Fenton systems for enhanced slaughterhouse wastewater treatment: A comparative study of graphite and titanium. Water Environ Res, 2024, 96(2): e10989.
27. Ma X, Li M, Meng F, et al. Efficient nano titanium electrode via a two-step electrochemical anodization with reconstructed nanotubes: Electrochemical activity and stability. Chemosphere, 2018, 202: 177-183.
28. Del Castillo R, Chochlidakis K, Galindo-Moreno P, et al. Titanium nitride coated implant abutments: From technical aspects and soft tissue biocompatibility to clinical applications. A literature review. J Prosthodont, 2022, 31(7): 571-578.
29. An H W, Lee J, Park J W. Surface characteristics and in vitro biocompatibility of surface-modified titanium foils as a regenerative barrier membrane for guided bone regeneration. J Biomater Appl, 2023, 37(7): 1228-1242.
30. Goyal K, Borkholder D A, Day S W. Dependence of skin-electrode contact impedance on material and skin hydration. Sensors (Basel), 2022, 22(21): 8510.
31. Berndt A, Pospiech D, Jehnichen D, et al. Methacrylate copolymers with liquid crystalline side chains for organic gate dielectric applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2015, 7(23): 12339-12347.
32. Li X, Yang F, Rubinsky B. A theoretical study on the biophysical mechanisms by which tumor treating fields affect tumor cells during mitosis. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 2020, 67(9): 2594-2602.
33. Pohling C, Nguyen H, Chang E, et al. Current status of the preclinical evaluation of alternating electric fields as a form of cancer therapy. Bioelectrochemistry, 2023, 149: 108287.

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