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!

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