High-frequency composite pulse generator based on full-bridge inverter and soft switching for biological applications

Applying high-frequency pulses to animals for tissue ablation can reduce the number and intensity of muscle contractions. Hence, developing a composite pulse generator is necessary to investigate the mechanism of tumor ablation under high-frequency composite pulses. In this study, a high-frequency and high-voltage composite pulse generator is proposed for such application. This generator combines the technology of full-bridge soft-switching circuit, MOSFET series, and RCD equalization circuit. This generator has the capability of producing composite pulses, in which the center frequencies of the bursts are up to 2 MHz, the inter-burst delay is 0.1-10 s, the pulse width is from 100 ns to 100 μs, the pulse amplitude is ±3 kV, and the rise time is around 30 ns. The parameters satisfy the requirements of the experiments for studying muscle contraction under high-frequency pulses and tumor ablation. The details of the generator's production of high-frequency composite pulses are provided. An all-solid-state modular design makes the generator compact and reliable. Initial experiments are then conducted to verify the performances of the proposed generator.