System and method for electrically ablating tissue of a patient

1. A method for ablating tissue of a patient comprising:

placing at least two electrodes within a tissue of the patient;

inputting treatment parameters into an ablation system, the ablation system comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory;

a display device connected to the processor, the display device displaying a user interface, the user interface allowing the user to input and change at least one treatment parameter;

a treatment control module stored in the memory and executable by the processor, the treatment control module adapted to:

receive parameters for a target ablation region;

select a number of electrical pulses based on the target ablation region and the positions of the electrodes;

generate an estimated treatment region based on the number of electrical pulses to be applied through the electrodes the generated estimated treatment region displayed on the display prior to a treatment procedure, the estimated treatment region being a non-thermally ablated tissue region, altering the generated estimated treatment region by changing at least one treatment parameter on the user interface; and

delivering treatment to the tissue of the patient.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the estimated treatment region based on the number and positions of electrodes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the treatment region based on the positions of the electrodes.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module displays on the display device a target ablation region superimposed with the generated estimated treatment region.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module:

generates a plurality of estimated treatment regions based on different numbers of pulses to be applied; and

selects an optimal number of pulses to be applied based on the generated treatment regions.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module:

generates a plurality of estimated treatment regions based on different numbers of pulses to be applied and different numbers of electrodes; and

selects an optimal number of electrodes to be applied and an optimal number of electrodes based on the generated treatment regions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module selects a pulse width based on a target ablation region.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes includes at least three electrodes (E 1 , E 2 and E 3 ), the system further comprising a pulse generator adapted to deliver, in sequence, at least one pulse to a first pair of electrodes (E 1 -E 2 ), at least one pulse to a second pair of electrodes (E 2 -E 3 ) and at least one other pulse to the first pair of electrodes (E 1 -E 2 ).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes includes at least three electrodes (E 1 , E 2 and E 3 ), the system further comprising a pulse generator, under the control of the treatment control module, adapted to deliver, in sequence, a set of pulses to a first pair of electrodes (E 1 -E 2 ), a set of pulses to a second pair of electrodes (E 2 -E 3 ), a set of pulses to a third pair of electrodes (E 3 -E 1 ), and then repeat the same sequence of pulse delivery.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the estimated treatment region using a Cassini oval equation.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein treatment control module:

further generates the estimated treatment region using the following Cassini oval equation or its equivalent Cartesian equation:

r 2= a 2 cos(2*theta)+/−sqrt( b 4− a 4 sin 2(2*theta))

wherein a is the distance from the origin to each electrode and b is a constant; and adjusts the constant b based on the number of pulses to be applied.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the estimated treatment region according to a predetermined positive relationship between the number of pulses and the size of the ablation region.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the estimated treatment region according to a predetermined positive non-linear relationship between the number of pulses and the size of the ablation region.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module further generates the estimated treatment region according to a tissue conductivity of a tissue region of a patient to be treated.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment control module controls a pulse generator to generate two or more sequences of pulses in which an inter-sequence delay is greater than an inter-pulse delay within one sequence.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one treatment parameter changed is the depth of the plurality of electrodes.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two electrodes are bipolar electrodes.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two electrodes are monopolar electrodes.