Cancer treatment and imaging methods using thermotherapy and drug delivery are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of administering a plurality of antibody or aptamer-conjugated nanoparticles, liposomes, and/or micelles containing a medication and/or gene to a patient in need thereof so as to target a tumor in the patient, at least some of the antibody or aptamer-conjugated nanoparticles, liposomes, and/or micelles attaching to surface antigens of tumor cells of the tumor so as to form a tumor cell/nanoparticle/liposome/micelle complex; and heating the antibody or aptamer-conjugated nanoparticles, liposomes, and/or micelles using an energy source so as to raise the temperature of the tumor cell/nanoparticle complex, micelle complex, and/or liposome complex, thereby releasing one or more medications from the antibody or aptamer-conjugated nanoparticles, liposomes, and/or micelles, and damaging one or more tumor cell membranes at the tumor site.

Aspects of the present invention relate to a device and method for examining and using an electrical field in a magnetic gradient field, containing magnetic particles in an examination area of an object under examination, including introducing magnetic particles into at least part of the examination area of the object under examination; generating an electrical field at least in part of the examination area; generating a magnetic field having a spatial magnetic field strength profile with a first sub-zone with a low magnetic field strength and a second sub-zone with a higher magnetic field strength in the examination area; varying a spatial position of the two sub-zones in the examination area such that a magnetization of the particles changes locally; detecting signals which depend on the magnetization in the examination area influenced by this variation; evaluating the signals to obtain information about the spatial distribution of the magnetic particles in the examination area; and determining a conductivity in the examination area as a function of a magnetization status of the magnetic particles.

Disclosed are methods of imaging a cancer cell, the method comprising applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency to the cancer cell for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the cancer cell for the first period of time increases permeability of cell membranes of the cancer cell; introducing a nanoparticle to the cancer cell, wherein the increased permeability of the cell membranes enables the nanoparticle to cross the cancer cell membrane; and imaging the cancer cell.

Disclosed are methods of altering the electric impedance to an alternating electric field in a target site of a subject, comprising introducing a nanoparticle to a target site in the subject; and applying an alternating electric field to the target site of the subject, wherein the electric impedance in the target site of the subject to the alternating current is altered. Disclosed are methods for improving transport of a nanoparticle across a cell membrane of a cell, the method comprising applying an alternating electric field to the cell for a period of time, wherein application of the alternating electric field increases permeability of the cell membrane; and introducing the nanoparticle to the cell, wherein the increased permeability of the cell membrane enables the nanoparticle to cross the cell membrane. Disclosed are methods of imaging a cancer cell, the method comprising applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency to the cancer cell for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the cancer cell for the first period of time increases permeability of cell membranes of the cancer cell; introducing a nanoparticle to the cancer cell, wherein the increased permeability of the cell membranes enables the nanoparticle to cross the cancer cell membrane; and imaging the cancer cell.

Methods, apparatus, and systems for medical procedures are disclosed herein and include applying an ablation electrode of a catheter to a surface of a tissue area, providing a first energy to the ablation electrode applied on the surface of the tissue area to ablate the tissue area, inserting a catheter needle of the catheter to a first distance into the tissue area, through the surface of the tissue area, depositing, via the catheter needle, a first radioactive seed at the first distance, and damaging a second portion of the tissue area based on depositing the first radioactive seed at the first distance.

The subject matter described herein is designed to facilitate and overcome the limitations of rehabilitation of body changes and to improve, retrain, and facilitate body functions micturition, defecation, sexual pleasure, anatomic prolapse, and their related bodily dysfunctions. The devices can include sensor, optics, send and receive transmitters, local positioning system (LPS) or sensors, computing devices and display elements and devices, which can be powered by bio-generating machines and devices.

The current invention concerns systems, devices and methods for the ablation of a ablation of the wall of one or more pulmonary veins (PV) from the inside, preferably transmural ablation and preferably at the level of the antrum. Hereby, one or more implant devices can be implanted in the vessels and can subsequently be heated by external energy-providing means.

A nanocomposite for detection and treatment of a target of interest including tumor cells or pathogens includes at least one nanostructure, each nanostructure having a core and a shell surrounding the core; a reporter assembled on the shell of each nanostructure; and a layer of a treating agent and a targeting agent conjugated to the reporter. In use, the nanocomposite targets to the target of interest according to the targeting agent and releases the treating agent and the nanostructure therein for therapeutic treatment of the target of interest, and the target of interest transmits at least one signature responsive to the reporter for detection of the target of interest.

A method of killing cells of a targeted cell type in a patient body that utilizes nanoparticles having a first portion, which when exposed to a target portion of a targeted cell type, binds to the target portion and a second portion, joined to the first portion, and comprised of a low resistivity material. The nanoparticles are introduced into a contact area where they contact cells of the targeted cell type. Contemporaneously, the contact area is exposed to a varying magnetic field of insufficient strength to increase the temperature of any part of the patient body by more than ten degrees Celsius, but which creates a current at the nanoparticles sufficient to disrupt function of the targeted cell type.

A method for the treatment of tumor(s) or tumor cell(s) or cancer(s) in a subject in need by the generation of heat. The latter is produced by chains of magnetosomes extracted from whole magnetotactic bacteria and subjected to an alternating magnetic field. These chains of magnetosomes yield efficient antitumoral activity whereas magnetosomes unbound from the chains or kept within the whole bacteria produce poor or no antitumoral activity. The introduction of various chemicals such as chelating agents and/or transition metals within the growth medium of the bacteria improves the heating properties of the chains of magnetosomes. Moreover, the insertion of the chains of magnetosomes within a lipid vesicle is also suggested in order to favor their rotation in vivo and hence to improve their heating capacity. The vesicle can contain an antitumoral agent together with the chains of magnetosomes. In this case, the agent is released within the tumors by heating the vesicle.