Spire Parkway Hospital in Solihull, U.K., has received a new MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) system.
The hospital is the first center outside London and only the second in the U.K. to offer MRgFUS to treat uterine fibroid patients.
MRgFUS combines a high-intensity focused ultrasound beam that heats and noninvasively destroys targeted tissue and MRI that visualizes the patient anatomy and controls the treatment by continuously monitoring the tissue effect. MR thermal feedback allows the physician to control and adjust the treatment in real-time to ensure the fibroid is fully treated and surrounding tissue is spared.
The ExAblate technology used in the system was developed by InSightec, a strategic partner of GE Healthcare, and is the first system to employ noninvasive MRgFUS.
