Desenvolvimento e validação de aplicativo para otimização do posicionamento de eletrodos na técnica de eletroquimioterapia

Abstract

Electrochemotherapy is a technique for the local treatment of tumors, based on the application of short and intense electrical pulses in a target tissue, along with chemotherapeutics, in order to potentiate its effect. However, the success of this therapy is closely linked to the electric field distribution, which in turn depends on characteristics such as type, number, arrangement and distance between electrodes, as well as the tissues electrical resistivity. This study has the aim to develop a software application for the positioning optimization of the main types of needle electrodes configurations for the application of electrochemotherapy. In the construction of the software application, the resources provided by MATLAB® were used. The mathematical models and analytical calculations used in Čorovič (2010) were incorporated in the program to calculate the electric field distribution between electrodes, as well as in the region of interest. According to this methodology, the intensity and electric field distribution generated by the various electrode arrangements are estimated by the Laplace Equation, considering the electric potential as a sum of the multipole of all the electrodes in a homogeneous medium. An optimization function was created to orientate the electrochemotherapy application, and the best option available in all configurations generated by the distance variations between electrodes and positioning orientations was determined. For its evaluation, the ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 14598-6 (2004) roadmap and the quality model described in ISO/IEC 25010 (2010) were used. The validation of the software application, named ApOtEl, was performed by 10 health professionals (2 veterinarians, 3 nurses and 5 physicians). In the evaluation of the professionals, the characteristics functional adequacy, reliability and performance efficiency obtained 100% of positive answers. Usability was approved by 98.18% of the participants, compatibility by 85.71%, and security by 60%. ApOtEl was approved with more than 80% in all categories, except safety. However, such outcome was already expected, since the application does not present any kind of sensitive data and therefore was not designed with a password or any type of security lock. The present study proved that ApOtEl meets the needs of electrochemotherapy application for superficial cutaneous tumors, providing a practical and accessible assistance tool that can be used both for the planning of applications with this technique and for personnel training.