SonablateSonaCare Medical, a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation devices provider, announced that it has sold the latest generation Sonasource with Sonablate prostate ablation probes to Klinik für Prostata Therapie (Clinic for Prostate Therapy) in Heidelberg, Germany. SonaCare’s Germany-based distribution partner, Dr Sennewald Medizintechnik GmbH, facilitated the purchase and will collaborate with the clinic and SonaCare to form a German HIFU and focal therapy demonstration center in Heidelberg.

Specializing in minimally-invasive, multimodal prostate cancer therapy, Klinik für Prostata Therapie has reportedly been using an older model of Sonablate for prostate ablation, and upgrading to the more advanced prostate Sonablate HIFU device with focal therapy technology helps the clinic improve its patient-centered treatments.

According to the announcement, Klinik für Prostata Therapie customized their system with Sonafuse Profuse, which fuses a previously obtained magnetic resonance image with live ultrasound during the HIFU procedure. This allows the visualization of regions of abnormality visible with MRI but not normally visible with ultrasound during the procedure for targeted treatment. The fusion program is based on Artemis Profuse software from Eigen, according to the company, one of three SonaCare Medical fusion partners that provide seamless integration with physicians’ targeted biopsy systems.

“As the first clinic in Germany to have implemented minimally invasive methods to treat prostate cancer, we are looking forward to continuing on our mission to make prostate cancer treatment in Germany and all of Europe gentler and more disease focused,” said Martin Löhr, MD, a partner and urologist at the clinic. “For the appropriate patient group, focal therapy has shown effective cancer control with a minimal side effect profile.”

Together with SonaCare Medical’s distributor, Dr Sennewald Medizintechnik, the clinic intends to establish a HIFU demonstration center that will serve physicians and patients from Germany and central Europe. Experienced users like Dr Löhr and his colleagues will serve as coaches for physicians interested in learning about therapeutic ultrasound and focal therapy.

For more information about the Sonablate technology, visit the SonaCare Medical website.