The Israeli-developed device, called the Optune helmet, said to prevent tumor growth using electric pulses, while causing minimal damage to healthy tissue.
This FDA-approved treatment comes in the form of a device that delivers Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) for glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Tumor Treating Fields use alternating electric fields specifically tuned to target cancer cells. Once electric fields enter the cancerous cell, they attract and repel charged proteins during the division process of the hostile cell, preventing the tumor's growth while causing minimal harm to nearby healthy cells.
The device, a helmet-like object called Optune, is designed for adult patients who were recently diagnosed with GBM and is administered to brain cancer sufferers going through chemotherapy treatments, specifically with an agent called temozolomide, used to fight off certain types of brain cancer.
Optune was developed by Israeli biotech company Novocure, and specifically by Yoram Palti, a professor of physiology and biophysics at the Technion Institute of Technology.
