Innovative Ultrasound Device Ablates Prostate Tissue

A minimally invasive high intensity therapeutic ultrasound (HITU) device destroys prostate tissue without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.

The Sonablate 450 HITU device features a fully integrated probe with dual ablation transducers that move robotically to follow the physician's precise ablation plan. Real-time ultrasound images of the prostate and surrounding areas provide image guidance that allows for a customizable high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation plan tailored to each patient's prostate diagnosis, allowing for a wide variety of applications, including whole-gland and partial prostate ablation without requiring transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

Tissue change monitoring (TCM) is then used to calculate the change that took place, displaying it on the system screen as a numerical result derived by quantifying tissue changes by comparing radio frequency (RF) ultrasound pulse-echo signals at each ablation site before and after HIFU delivery. And since the treatment does not involve radiation, it can be repeated as necessary. The Sonablate 450 HITU device is a product of SonaCare Medical (Charlotte, NC, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Men all over the world, in the more than 49 countries where it has already been authorized for use, have had access to this technology for prostate ablation,” said Mark Carol, MD, CEO of SonaCare Medical. “There are numerous peer reviewed articles attesting to its value in ablating the prostate while minimizing the occurrence of side effects. Our company is appreciative of the collaborative efforts made on the part of the FDA to bring this technology to the United States.”

“I believe that we are at a pivotal point in prostate care. Simultaneous advances in imaging, fusion technologies, and now more focused therapies are going to allow us to precisely diagnose prostate conditions, and ablate these targeted areas rather than perform whole gland prostate surgery, which carries a significant burden on quality of life,” said Sonablate trial investigator Michael Koch, MD, chairman of the department of Urology at Indiana University (Bloomington, USA). “HIFU will become the work-horse of subtotal prostate therapy.”

HIFU involves ultrasound energy, or sound waves, focused at a specific location within the prostate called the focal point. Once applied, tissue temperature at the focal point rapidly rises to almost 90 degrees Celsius. The tissue at the focal point is thus destroyed, while the tissue located outside of the focal lesion remains unharmed.

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