BSD Medical Corp. has filed a patent for a new non-invasive phased array breast treatment applicator developed to selectively heat breast cancer tumors.
This novel capability is uniquely applicable to the 915 MHz operating frequency of the BSD-500 hyperthermia system.
The company discovered through research that at 915 MHz the characteristics of breast tumors 4-5 centimeters in diameter (those typically treated with radiation and/or chemotherapy) selectively absorb microwave energy, while the microwaves largely pass through the other tissues of the breast. The discovery of this selective heating capability could be used in numerous ways for better delivery of hyperthermia in treating breast cancer. However, one of the novel applications is to use selective heating of breast tumors to release tiny heat-triggered capsules of chemotherapy drugs as they enter breast tumors through the blood stream, causing the capsules to burst inside the tumor, greatly multiplying the potency of the drug delivery. In this case the breast applicator would serve as the "targeting system" to find and heat tumors and the heat-triggered drug capsules would become "smart bombs" that release when heated as they enter the tumor.