Researchers aim to test a new device that breaks down stroke-causing blood clots by 2011. The technology, developed by an Israeli ultrasound company called InSightec, has already been successfully tested on clots in test tubes and in animals, and will soon be ready for human testing.
InSightec is a relatively new yet already multi-award winning company that works with MR guided focused ultrasound technology. MR stands for Magnetic Resonance, as in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The company is headquartered in Tirat Carmel, Israel, with US offices in Dallas, Texas.
The ExAblate treatment, using MR guided focused ultrasound, is conducted while the patient is fully conscious inside of a Magnetic Resonance scanner. The patient is merely sedated while doctors plan and carry out the treatment from a remote workstation.
The technology is already being used to remove damaged brain tissue in humans, allowing doctors to not have to perform risky and often complicated brain surgery. Apart from the non-invasive removal of damaged tissue in the brain, the technology is also used for treating uterine fibroids. The current common practice for treating such a condition is a hysterectomy, which is an extreme but necessary measure. Clinical trials are also underway in oncology, particularly for pain palliation of bone metastases, breast and prostate cancer. However, removing tiny blood clots in the brain will require more precision. Doctors will need to prove that the technology will not damage collateral brain tissue in the process.
Doctor Thilo Hoelscher, a German neurologist at the University of California at San Diego, accepted a fellowship at the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation last year. “(The technology) will dissolve blood clots and restore blood flow within seconds. Drugs like tPA won’t be necessary,” he says.
The applications of this Israeli technology are limitless. In fact, the modern operating table may one day even become the extreme alternative to focused ultrasound surgery, except in emergency situations.
View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Technology.