Sep 6 2010
InSightec, a subsidiary of Elbit Imaging Ltd, has announced that its ExAblate system has been deployed in N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology in Saint Petersburg, Russia and at the National Cancer Centre at the Singapore General Hospital, Singapore in the treatment of confined low-risk prostate cancer for seven patients. This robot has already got FDA consent for its application in the uterine fibroids treatment.
ExAblate
American Cancer Society has reported that by the end of 2010, around 217,730 fresh cases of prostate cancer will be identified in the nation. World Health organization has declared that around 900,000 new cases will be detected worldwide. Various treatment methods deployed in the US for the treatment of prostate cancer include prostatectomy (detachment of prostate gland surgically), radiation therapy, brachytherapy (by embedding radioactive seeds) and cryotherapy. High intensity focused ultrasound method is employed outside the nation for the treatment of prostate cancer.
ExAblate robot is an image assisted, locally confined automated surgery system which includes real time magnetic resonance imaging for viewing the tumor, its nearby tissue and also the ultrasound distribution path along with higher magnitude of ultrasound beam which is released with a millimeter accuracy to break down the cancerous tissue without disturbing the nearby cells. The consequences of this therapy are closely watched with the help of real-time 3D MR thermometry and depending on the patient’s bodily processes the treatment can be fine-tuned.
According to Dr. Kobi Vortman, President and Chief Executive Officer of InSightec, the existing treatment methods of prostate cancer involves high level of unfavorable proceedings like incontinence and sexual inability, thereby potentially affecting the life standards of prostrate cancer patients. He added that the launching of the PSA screening tests enable the detection of this cancer at the initial stage itself thereby increasing the need for a treatment method that reduces undesirable events. Hence by using ExAblate robot, these side effects can be reduced to a great extent and the patients can easily resume their normal life within a couple of days.