Prostate Applications of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Therapy

The primary purpose of prostate high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) systems is to perform incisionless prostate tissue ablation therapy. Prostate HIFU therapy is intended to be a curative therapy that avoids the risks of complications and side effects of the clinically accepted approaches of surgical radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), or brachytherapy (BT). Prostate HIFU therapy is considered an option for men who are not surgical candidates because of their age or other reasons, or who may prefer it over alternative therapies.

Prostate HIFU procedures are typically performed as an outpatient procedure with the patient under sedation. Ablations may be:

1. Focal, used in the case of a solitary area or multiple individual areas of malignancy in the gland

2. Regional, used to reduce the size of an abnormally large prostate gland in patients who have benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)

3. Used to ablate the entire prostate to treat extensive disease processes

Reports indicate that prostate HIFU is an effective therapy option that has comparable or lower levels...