Introducing the ExAblate 2000. Seattle-area Women Offered NonInvasive Treatment for Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids

-- MR guided Focused Ultrasound Outpatient Procedure Permits Return to Normal Activities Within Two Days --

Seattle, WA. Focused Ultrasound Northwest today announced the offering of a new and completely noninvasive procedure to treat symptomatic uterine fibroids using the ExAblate® 2000 technology. ExAblate combines Magnetic Resonance Imaging with focused ultrasound to destroy the benign but often debilitating and painful tumors. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, and most women return to normal activities within 2-3 days. This facility is the first in the Pacific Northwest to offer the ExAblate treatment.

"ExAblate offers women a noninvasive option for the removal of painful uterine fibroids. Many women who would have chosen to suffer with the side effects of uterine fibroids in the past to avoid surgery now have a treatment option," said Eric Fassler, MD, an OB-Gyn physician trained in the cutting-edge treatment. "While the cost is comparable to a hysterectomy or uterine artery embolization, the patient is able to avoid the long convalescence period and potential post-operative complications that come with major surgery."

Uterine fibroids are the most common non-cancerous tumor in women of childbearing age. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, at least 25% of women suffer from uterine fibroids. (As many as 77% of women may actually have the condition, but may be unaware of it because they exhibit no symptoms). Before the Food and Drug Administration approved the ExAblate® 2000 system for commercial use in October 2004, the other treatment options for uterine fibroids, such as hysterectomy, myomectomy, and uterine artery embolization were invasive, requiring hospital stays and from one to several weeks of recovery. ExAblate is an out-patient procedure, and most patients return to normal activities within two days of the procedure.

About ExAblate® 2000
During the ExAblate outpatient procedure, the patient lies inside the MRI scanner. The MRI scanner provides 3-dimensional images of the fibroid and surrounding tissue, enabling precise guidance of the ultrasound waves to the target tissue. Highly focused ultrasound waves are directed into the body, and at the focal point, the ultrasound waves raise the temperature of the tissue, leading to its destruction. The thermal imaging capabilities of the MRI scanner provide real-time feedback on the temperature achieved at the target tissue during treatment, helping to ensure therapy outcome control.

ExAblate 2000 is the first focused ultrasound thermal ablation system approved by the FDA and is also the first focused ultrasound surgery system using Magnetic Resonance (MR) guidance. It was recently awarded the Wall St. Journal's 2004 bronze medal for Technology Innovation, out of 585 applicants.

ExAblate is developed and manufactured by InSightec Image guided Treatment Ltd of Haifa, Israel (www.insightec.com).

Focused Ultrasound Northwest's system is installed at Seattle Radiologists located on the Swedish Medical Center campus in Seattle. Physicians hope to begin treating patients the first week of August, 2005. This component will greatly enhance many women's opportunity to eliminate the pain and discomfort of uterine fibroids they've been living with for years, without having to undergo an invasive procedure. It promises a significant decrease in lost productive work days, (saving women much in terms of pain and inconvenience, and saving businesses from the loss of valuable employees), while at the same time offering dramatic improvements in patients' quality of life.