SonaCare Medical Supports American Urology Association's Small Renal Mass 360⁰ Summit

Sonatherm® Laparoscopic HIFU device used to demonstrate thermal ablation at hands-on lab

Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) - SonaCare Medical, a leading manufacturer of medical High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) devices, recently participated in the American Urology Association’s (AUA) surgical summit “Small Renal Mass 360⁰.” Key opinion leaders in urology presented on the latest diagnostic and therapeutic advances related to small renal masses while attendees had the opportunity to evaluate and learn about different ablative technologies in hands-on labs. Attendees at the Los Angeles, CA lab, under direction of course director Inderbir Gill, MD, successfully used the Sonatherm® (HIFU) device to laparoscopically ablate porcine kidney tissue as well as the bladder wall. Dr. Gill had previously performed the first outpatient renal ablation with Sonatherm®.

The summit program included a special emphasis on nephron-sparing therapies, the goal being to preserve as much renal function as possible. Discussed approaches included partial nephrectomy and thermal ablation with cryotherapy, HIFU and radio frequency. SonaCare Medical dedicated a Sonatherm® system to the summit allowing physicians to witness and perform HIFU ablation in the hands-on lab. Attendees commented that the Sonatherm® technology was a very interesting treatment option especially since it did not puncture the tumor and a precisely planned ablation was possible.

Dr. Mark Carol, lead architect of the Sonatherm® system and CEO of SonaCare, commented, “I am delighted to see the urology community adding Sonatherm® to their surgical tool box not just for kidney but potentially for bladder cancer as well. Just as the oncologic landscape is changing in the direction of smaller tumors treated earlier, our technology will continue to evolve to meet the need for precise, image guided ablative tools required for organ preserving focal treatments.”

About SonaCare Medical
SonaCare Medical, a privately held, venture-backed healthcare company is a world leader in minimally invasive high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technologies. SonaCare Medical is committed to developing technologies for urological indications that offer precise and innovative procedures that can control cancer and reduce potential quality of life altering side effects. SonaCare Medical, with its subsidiary Focus Surgery, Inc., designs and manufactures high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) medical devices, including the following: Sonablate® 450 which is investigational in the U.S. and being studied in a pivotal FDA clinical trial as a possible treatment for recurrent prostate cancer in patients treated previously with external beam radiation therapy; Sonablate® 500, which has CE Marking and is, or has been, approved for use to treat prostate cancer in more than 30 countries outside the U.S.; and Sonatherm® laparoscopic HIFU surgical ablation system which is 510(k) cleared in the U.S. The FDA has made no decision as to the safety or efficacy of Sonablate® 450 or 500. In the event Sonablate® 450 is approved by the FDA for use in the U.S., there is no assurance that instructions for use or the specifications of the device will be the same for treatment approved or authorized in other countries outside of the U.S. SonaCare Medical was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

For additional information, visit http://www.SonaCareMedical.com.