Profound Medical Corp. (NASDAQ:PROF; TSX:PRN) (“Profound” or the “Company”), a commercial-stage medical device company that develops and markets customizable, incision-free therapies for the ablation of diseased tissue, is pleased to announce the unveiling of its third TULSA-AI® software module, UA Alignment Assistant, in addition to six presentations featuring the Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation (“TULSA”) procedure, at the upcoming 110th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (“RSNA 2024”) being held in Chicago, IL, December 1-4, 2024, and the 25th Annual Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology (“SUO 2024”) taking place in Dallas, TX, December 4 - 6, 2024.
The TULSA procedure, performed using Profound’s TULSA-PRO® system, has the potential of becoming a mainstream treatment modality across the entire prostate disease spectrum; ranging from low-, intermediate-, or high-risk prostate cancer; to hybrid patients suffering from both prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (“BPH”); to men with BPH only; and also, to patients requiring salvage therapy for radio-recurrent localized prostate cancer. TULSA employs real-time MR guidance for precision to preserve patients’ urinary continence and sexual function, while killing the targeted prostate tissue via precise sound absorption technology that gently heats it to 55-57°C. TULSA is an incision- and radiation-free “one-and-done” procedure performed in a single session that takes a few hours. Virtually all prostate shapes and sizes can be safely, effectively, and efficiently treated with TULSA. There is no bleeding associated with the procedure; no hospital stay is required; and most TULSA patients report quick recovery to their normal routine.
Recognizing TULSA is being used by urologists to treat an unrivalled variety of prostate cancer and/or BPH patients, Profound is developing a novel set of software modules under the TULSA-AI® brand to work in conjunction with TULSA-PRO® to provide further customizability, ease of use, speed of treatment and higher confidence in clinical outcomes.
As the name implies, UA Alignment Assistant streamlines the alignment of the ultrasound applicator (“UA”) catheter that resides in the center of the prostate during the TULSA procedure. The primary benefit of the software is improvement in workflow consistency, as instead of aligning it manually, it will now be done the same way every time via the module. Previously, the manual TULSA-PRO® UA alignment meant that users had to spend time scrolling through MR images and clicking through to align them to the UA. Via the new software, MR images will be automatically imported and then immediately displayed to the user in an aligned way.
“One of the focusses of RSNA 2024 – which is expected to attract more than 40,000 physicians, researchers and industry participants – will be on the increasingly important role that AI can play in improving the efficiency and quality of care,” said Arun Menawat, Profound’s CEO and Chairman. “Accordingly, it is the ideal forum for us to unveil for the first time our third TULSA-AI® module, UA Alignment Assistant. Effectively, the module removes a whole procedural step from TULSA, resulting in less mental charge, fewer steps to remember, and overall procedural simplification for users. We are also excited to see that the RSNA and SOU 2024 meetings will feature presentations on the TULSA procedure by esteemed physicians and researchers from the Busch Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic.”