Histotripsy: Destroying Tumors with Sound Waves (Demo & Explainer)

What is Histotripsy?

• 💡 Histotripsy is a non-invasive cancer treatment that uses targeted ultrasound waves to destroy tumors.
• 🎯 The Edison system by Hystoonics is the only commercially available histotripsy machine for humans.
• 🛠️ A water bath, similar to ultrasound gel, is placed on the patient to prevent air pockets that could diffuse the ultrasound waves.

The Procedure

• 🏥 While performed in an operating room, it's not a sterile procedure, requiring no incisions.
• 😴 Patients typically receive sedation and anesthesia to remain still during treatment.
• 🔊 The machine uses arrays of ultrasound emitters that focus to a small point, causing mechanical destruction by rapidly expanding and contracting gases within tumor cells, essentially liquefying them.

How it Works

• 🔬 Doctors use ultrasound imaging to locate the tumor and calibrate the machine's power and size to the specific tumor.
• 🎯 The focused ultrasound waves are confined to a precise area, creating a sharp margin that allows for treatment close to critical structures without damage.
• ✅ The liquefied tumor tissue is naturally absorbed by the body's immune system.

Potential and Future Applications

• 📈 Histotripsy is currently focused on liver tumors, with before-and-after images showing significant lesion resolution and liver tissue healing.
• 🚀 Trials are underway for kidney and pancreatic tumors, with potential expansion to prostate, uterine fibroids, breast, thyroid, and even brain tumors.
• ⚠️ Air-filled organs like lungs and intestines pose a challenge for ultrasound waves, but the technology is expanding to both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions.

Patient Experience and Availability

• ⏱️ A histotripsy procedure can take 1 to 3 hours, depending on the number of tumors.
• 🚶 Most patients go home a few hours after the procedure, experiencing mild pain or flu-like symptoms as the body reacts.
• 🌍 Histotripsy received FDA approval in October 2023 and is expanding globally, with machines becoming more widely available.