Urology  

Microwave device treats enlarged prostates faster, safer and effectively as surgery

28 May 2005

San Antonio, Texas USA. Prostalund, Inc., a Swedish developer and manufacturer of medical devices, today announced its unique CoreTherm medical device that utilizes minimally invasive, temperature-controlled, microwave thermotherapy to treat an enlarged prostate (BPH: benign prostatic hyperplasia), which affects millions of men in the U.S.

CoreTherm effectively treats patients in 10-15 minutes, produces results equivalent to surgery, and is safer than surgery with significantly fewer serious adverse events. Because CoreTherm only requires a local anaesthetic and is administered on an outpatient basis, it is especially beneficial for patients at greater risk for a surgical procedure requiring general anaesthesia.

CoreTherm received FDA approval in 2003 and has successfully treated approximately 15,000 patients worldwide. It is now available to hospitals, clinics, and physicians in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

"CoreTherm is the most advanced, effective treatment for BPH available today. It provides patients with maximum positive results with minimal risk or discomfort," stated Magnus Bolmsjö, founder and CEO of ProstaLund AB. "Physicians like CoreTherm because it allows them treat a greater number of patients in a shorter amount of time, thus making the biggest improvement to their patient's conditions and quality of life."

About the problem (Benign prostate hyperplasia — enlarged prostate)

Virtually every other man over the age of 50 will over time be affected by urination problems due to benign prostate hyperplasia, BPH. This condition causes troublesome symptoms and anxiety that adversely affects quality of life for millions of men around the world. Addressing the BPH problem often becomes a choice between surgery, a minimally invasive procedure or symptom-controlling medication.

In the past few years, a new type of minimally invasive methods to treat BPH have become the treatment of choice for more and more patients. These minimally invasive methods involve the use of microwave thermotherapy to reduce the size of the prostate. Prostalund's CoreTherm method utilizes its own innovative technologies to provide temperature feedback and control during the procedure in order to produce better results.

About CoreTherm

CoreTherm's unique features and patented design make it the most advanced minimally invasive procedure available today for the treatment of BPH. No other minimally invasive, microwave thermotherapy devices have these capabilities.

Best results equivalent to surgery: CoreTherm is the only minimally invasive microwave thermotherapy device that consistently reduces patient symptoms from severe to mild — similar to surgery. Other minimally invasive procedures only reduce the symptoms from severe to moderate.

Safer than surgery/fewer serious adverse events: In a 12-month follow up of a randomized multi-center study involving 146 patients, 17% of patients undergoing TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) experienced a serious adverse event while only 2% of the CoreTherm patients experienced a serious adverse event. This study is available upon request.

Accurate monitoring of intraprostatic temperature: By accurately monitoring the temperature of the prostate during the procedure, physicians can observe the condition of the patient's prostate and real-time effects of the treatment in progress. Without this monitoring, patients are frequently (up to 40%) under treated, which leads to less than optimal results or even the need to be treated again in the future.

Adjustable Microwave Power/Temperature Control: CoreTherm allows the physician to precisely adjust the temperature to treat each individual patient's condition. This control is important because it reduces the chances the prostate is either over treated or under treated.

Fastest treatment time: CoreTherm treats patients in 10-15 minutes, while other microwave thermotherapy devices require 30-60 minutes of treatment. Patients greatly appreciate this benefit. Surgery requires an overnight hospital stay and administration of a general anesthetic.

To top

 

To top