High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) developer SonaCare Medical will showcase two new products at the annual congress of the European Association of Urology in Milan from 15 to 19 March.
The company, which was known as USHIFU until it changed its name in February 2013, will introduce its Sonatherm HIFU surgical ablation system in Europe. Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for laparoscopic or intraoperative soft tissue ablation, Sonatherm uses HIFU energy to ablate a wide variety of soft tissues from the ultrasound focal point back to the surface of the targeted tissue.
The Sonatherm system includes a mobile console and two high-frequency robotic 12-mm laparoscopic probes. Each of these i equipped with multiple transducers that image (6.5 MHz) and treat (4.0 MHz) along with a Sonachill unit for water degassing and circulation.
The company is also demonstrating a retooled version of its flagship product, Sonablate 500. It comes with a sleeker, more modern mobile console and a redesigned software platform featuring new treatment planning and enhanced simulation capabilities that reduce planning time and expands the clinician's functionality for whole-gland, focal, and salvage prostate treatments, according to the company. The new system includes two high-frequency robotic transrectal probes. Each probe is equipped with a dedicated imaging transducer (6.3 MHz) and dual split-beam treatment transducers (4.0 MHz). It also includes an upgraded Sonachill unit for water degassing, circulation, and cooling.
SonaCare Medical's proprietary HIFU systems delivery therapy that destroys targeted tissue with rapid heat elevation. HIFU concentrates high-frequency ultrasound waves from a transducer into a small ablation zone. At the ablation zone, the temperature rapidly increases causing complete cellular necrosis, destroying all targeted tissue while leaving untargeted tissue unharmed.
