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InSightec has joined with General Electric in developing the ExAblate 2000, (high-intensity, focused ultrasound www.insightec.com). This system targets and destroys tumors using a focused beam of ultrasound. In order to achieve pinpoint accuracy, the mechanism is used in conjunction with real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Simply put, a patient with a tumor now has the opportunity to have it treated and destroyed without the need for invasive, painful surgery, and many lost days of work during convalescence which surgery often entails. With this new treatment, the patient walks out within minutes after the procedure, and is able to resume normal daily activities with little to no discomfort.

The use of ultrasound is an amazing advance for many reasons, not the least of which is that this system uses ultrasound, which does not carry with it the same dangers as does harmful radiation.

The system was approved by the FDA just months ago for use in treating uterine fibroids (a painful, non-cancerous condition which affects up to 25% of women, and causes excessive bleeding, pain, and fatigue). Currently, the definitive treatments for uterine fibroids include uterine artery embolization, which is invasive and quite painful, and hysterectomy, which is a significant and invasive procedure which women understandably resist because it entails loss of the uterus. Additionally, several clinical trials are underway re. the treatment of tumors of the breast, liver, pancreas, bone, brain, and prostate.

Because of the obvious benefits to women, and the clear advantages to local businesses (their executives and employees can get definitive treatment without the pain and complications and recuperation time), we are hoping to gain widespread support from the Puget Sound business community.

There are currently approximately twelve (12) ExAblate 2000 systems nation-wide, including sites at Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Brigham and Women's Hospital, as well as Boca Raton, Florida, and Beverly Hills, CA. Focused Ultrasound Northwest has purchased two ExAblate systems, with plans to have the first fully operational in July, 2005, with the possibility of installing the second in Tacoma, WA. We will have the only ExAblate systems in the Pacific Northwest; in fact, the only sites operating north of Beverly Hills or west of the Mayo Clinic. Our site in Renton would attract patients from as far east as Colorado and surrounding states, from northern California, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii, as well as British Columbia, Canada. Such widespread awareness of the system will help establish the Puget Sound region as a leader in innovative health care technologies.

Embracing emerging technologies is vital for numerous reasons. Only by putting such innovations to work can we move our community forward in the area of quality, cost-effective health care. The ExAblate 2000 is particularly suited to this aim, as 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.