US-based BSD Medical has announced the start of a clinical trial by the University of Utah School of Medicine using BSD’s MicroThermX microwave ablation system for treating liver tumours.
Twenty patients will be enrolled in the prospective, non-randomised, single arm trial, which both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic liver tissue will be evaluated in.
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The trial’s main aim is to clinically assess the size of the ablation zones produced in liver tissue by BSD’s patented Synchronous Wave Alignment technology developed for MicroThermX.
University of Utah School of Medicine assistant professor of radiology Ryan O’Hara is the trial’s principal investigator.
"This trial will allow us to study the effects of the Synchronous Wave Alignment technology in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic liver tissue, and to determine if there is a difference in how the energy is absorbed in the two types of tissue," O’Hara said.
BSD’s MicroThermX uses the Synchronous Wave Alignment technology to provide larger and more uniform zones of ablation across all tissue types during a single procedure.
The University of Utah trial will assess the ability of MicroThermX to create larger heating zones, using multiple antennas, than achieved by other available microwave ablation systems.
Simultaneously using multiple antennas gives physicians the ability to create a large, contiguous zone of necrosis with large margins.
The company said that larger, hotter heating zones may also decrease the occurrence of inadequate treatment of larger tumours.
MicroThermX is a compact, mobile, proprietary system that includes a microwave generator, single-patient-use disposable antennas and a thermistor-based temperature monitoring system.
