About (KC) 22-Mar-07

From Kidney Cancer Resource

To Go To About (KC)

Misonix Announces First Successful HIFU Procedures for Human Kidney Cancer

HIFU Medical Device Leader Takes Center Stage at EAU 2007 as Champion of Minimally Invasive Cancer Treatment; Over 200 Hundred Medical Professionals Attend Live Sonablate 500 Prostate Cancer Procedure and Participate in First Sonatherm 600 HIFU Kidney Cancer Study Group Misonix, Inc. (MSON), a developer of ultrasonic medical device technology for the treatment of cancer and other chronic health conditions, announced the results from its first human kidney cancer treatments using the Sonatherm 600 (“Sonatherm”), a medical device using high intensity focused ultrasound (“HIFU”).

According to Dr. Michael A. Marberger, Chairman and Professor of the Department of Urology, University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria, where the treatments were performed, procedures were successfully completed with positive ablation effect noted on cancer cells in tumors within human kidneys.

The trial patients treated by Dr. Marberger’s team at University of Vienna Medical School were diagnosed to have cancerous kidney tumors and were candidates for full or partial nephrectomies (surgical removal of kidney). Each patient agreed to first have the kidney cancer treated laparoscopically with HIFU from the Sonatherm with the kidney still in place and before a nephrectomy was performed. After the cancerous areas of the kidney were removed through the traditional, surgical methods the HIFU treated areas were tested outside of the patient’s body. The results showed positive ablation of cancerous tissue treated by the Sonatherm.

“The Sonatherm 600 is an important new development for minimally invasive treatment of kidney cancer,” said Dr. Mark Sullivan, Senior Laparoscopic Surgeon and Honorary Lecturer at Oxford University Hospital. “The ability of this device to laparoscopically treat cancerous cells in the kidney effectively and safely has the potential to eliminate the need for nephrectomies, which may jeopardize patients’ health and are costly.”

“Using the Sonatherm’s HIFU technology to treat the cancer while keeping the kidney in place is a breakthrough process,” noted Dr. Marberger. “The process is unique and our preliminary results to date in using the device are very exciting.”

The results were the primary topic of discussion at the first ever international Laparoscopic Kidney HIFU study group meeting, held as a Misonix-sponsored event during the European Association of Urology Conference 2007 (“EAU 2007”) in Berlin, Germany. The study group was chaired by Dr. Marberger, an authority and respected lecturer on ultrasonic medical devices used in urological applications.

The Sonatherm has been demonstrated as a technologically advanced medical device for minimally invasive procedures that ablate cancerous tissue without the need to puncture the kidney organ. Surgeons from Oxford University Hospital, Oxford, England, and Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Turin, Italy, are also performing human kidney procedures using the Sonatherm as part of Misonix’s three site clinical program. Medical professionals from all three clinical centers participated in the study group meeting.

The Sonatherm 600 was developed and is manufactured by Misonix, based on the HIFU technology of Focus Surgery, Inc. Misonix is an investor in privately-held Focus Surgery, one of the most prominent developers of HIFU in the world. Misonix also holds the worldwide and/or regional licenses to manufacture, market and sell HIFU medical devices relating to the treatment of tissue in the prostate, liver and breast that it acquired from Focus Surgery.

“We are thrilled by the Sonatherm HIFU clinical results detailed by Dr. Marberger and the extraordinary “buzz” being generated by all of our new medical technologies for the minimally and non-invasive treatment of cancer,” said Michael A. McManus, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Misonix. “I am pleased to have been surrounded by such an impressive group of doctors from highly respected medical centers at the first international Laparoscopic Kidney HIFU study group meeting. There is clearly a high level of excitement by the progress we have made to date and the potential for the breakthrough technology for minimally invasive treatment which is only being done in the HIFU area by Misonix.

With an entire day of EAU 2007 devoted to minimally invasive technologies and the participation of hundreds of surgeons from countries throughout Europe and around the world, it is clear that Misonix’s research and product development pursuits using HIFU technology are of significance to the global healthcare community.

We believe Misonix possesses the most advanced HIFU platform of minimally invasive medical devices for the treatment of cancer. While a cure for cancer remains illusive, Misonix continues to make considerable advances in the development of unique products for effective and patient-friendly eradication of cancerous tissue.”

SB500 -- Featured Technology at ESUT Symposium

Misonix also reported that over 200 urologists and related medical professionals from throughout Europe attended on-site or via teleconference a live procedure using the Sonablate 500 (“SB500”), a medical device for non-invasive HIFU treatment of prostate cancer developed by Focus Surgery, Inc. and manufactured by Misonix. Misonix also has the exclusive European distribution rights for the product.

Misonix’s SB500 was selected as a featured technology at the European Society for Uro-Technology (“ESUT”) symposium, a complementary medical forum to EAU 2007, which highlighted throughout the day the latest minimally invasive medical device technologies and practices for the urological field. Dr. Georg Schlatzl, a urological surgeon at the University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria, performed the procedure in the operating theater in Rotenburg, Germany.

To view the web site Click Here

Disclaimer

E&OE - Errors & Omissions Excepted