When HIFU was new, the treatments were administered to men with the machine mostly controlling the power settings after the urologist defined the boundaries of the prostate. Research by Dr. Mark Emberton in London has shown significantly improved results when the urologist adjusts the power settings according to the individual gland’s response to the heat. Different men will develop differing tissue temperatures with the same power administered. This affects the success of killing cancer and the development of scar tissue afterward.

Only the Sonablate unit allows us to constantly adjust the settings to tailor the treatment to the individual’s responses. See the posting regarding Tissue Change Monitoring for additional advantages of the Sonablate unit over other HIFU technologies.

Beginning March, 2009 the Tissue Change Monitoring (TCM) function was added to the Sonablate HIFU units in Puerto Vallarta. This feature uses a radio frequency signal before and after each firing to compare tissue changes from before and after the application of sound wave energy. It allows a clue as to whether an area may not have received sufficient energy (due to obstructing calcium deposits, cysts, etc.) to kill the cancer tissue, and enables us to go back and give the specific site another shot.

Actual post-treatment followup statistics will have to bear it out over the next few years, but I suspect the occasional need for re-treatment currently seen will be seen less often with this new feature. Very exciting!