TIRAT CARMEL, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InSightec Ltd. today announced that it will exhibit at the 5th Annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, DC from April 21-23. The company will feature the only FDA approved MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) device, the ExAblate® 2000, which has been used to treat uterine fibroids non-invasively, minimizing trauma, morbidity and recovery time. In addition to enhancing patient care, the procedure has a significant economic impact reducing overall medical costs when compared to conventional surgery. Uterine fibroid is a pervasive condition that impacts up to 70% of women of childbearing age and can lead to serious symptoms.

The company’s ExAblate 2000 is the world’s first non-invasive surgery system to combine focused ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. It received its European CE Marking in 2002 and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2004 for treating uterine fibroids.

“This technology has been a major advance in women’s health and is setting the stage for other non-invasive surgical advances. We believe this non-invasive technology has the potential to become one of the major forms of surgery within the next 20 years, helping improve millions of lives without the long hospitalizations, extended recovery times, side effects, complication risks and extensive costs associated with invasive surgery,” said Dr. Kobi Vortman, InSightec’s President and CEO.

The MRgFUS procedure takes between two to four hours depending on the size of the fibroids treated. Patients are able to go home the same day and return to normal activities within a day or two. Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), is the most common treatment for uterine fibroids, and is a major surgery requiring hospitalization and significantly longer recovery times. Many women have chosen to suffer from the severe symptoms that fibroids cause rather than undergo hysterectomies or other invasive surgical procedures.

“MR Guided Focused Ultrasound is a technological innovation that has propelled the field of less invasive surgery to totally non invasive surgery,” said Suzanne LeBlang, M.D., a Neuroradiologist and the Medical Director for MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery at University Image Guided Therapy Center in Boca Raton, Florida. “For women's health and the treatment of uterine fibroids, this procedure provides an alternative to hysterectomy, myomectomy and uterine artery embolization by decreasing the symptomotology with only an outpatient surgery procedure that has a minimal recovery period, allowing the patient to return to normal activities within one to two days. My most recent patient went horseback riding 2 days after the procedure and felt great!”

Uterine fibroids carry a significant economic burden in terms of the cost of treatment, hospitalization and work absenteeism. Since the MRgFUS procedure is performed on an outpatient basis without any hospitalization and allows the patient to return to normal activity within one to two days, it offers cost and comfort advantages to patients, healthcare providers and employers as compared with other treatment modalities.

“This is an excellent example of an advanced technology which, instead of adding to the healthcare costs, can significantly reduce it in those patients that qualify for this non invasive treatment,” according Victor Reddick, InSightec’s Sr. VP and General Manager. “With this procedure, payers, employers, hospitals and patients are all spared the multidimensional costs of conventional uterine surgery. The company is focused on gaining approvals for insurance reimbursement which will help drive the economic efficiency across the healthcare continuum,” he continued.

InSightec is carrying out an extensive research program to conduct clinical trials using this technology in various cancerous applications including breast, bone metastases, liver, brain and prostate, while continuing clinical trials in uterine fibroids. InSightec will be seeking FDA approvals for all these clinical applications.

For its medical advances, InSightec has received recognition in the healthcare and general technology communities. The company was recently honored by the World Economic Forum with its prestigious Technology Pioneer 2008 recognition from among 273 nominees.

About ExAblate
ExAblate is the first system to use the breakthrough MRgFUS technology that combines MRI – to visualize the body anatomy, plan the treatment and monitor treatment outcome in real time – and high intensity focused ultrasound to thermally ablate tumors inside the body non-invasively. MR thermometry, provided uniquely by the system, allows the physician to control and adjust the treatment in real time to ensure that the targeted tumor is fully treated and surrounding tissue is spared. ExAblate has been recognized for its innovation and potential to serve mankind and has been awarded the 2004 European Union’s Information Society Technologies grand prize, The Wall Street Journal’s 2004 Technology Innovation Awards, Advanced Imaging’s 2005 Solutions of the Year, the Red Herring 100 Europe 2007 Award and currently one of the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2008.

About InSightec
InSightec Ltd. is a privately held company owned by Elbit Imaging (EMI), General Electric, MediTech Advisors, LLC and employees. It was founded in 1999 to develop the breakthrough MR guided Focused Ultrasound technology and transform it into the next generation operating room. Headquartered near Haifa, Israel, the company has over 150 employees and has invested more than $100 million in research, development, and clinical investigations. Its U.S. headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please go to: http://www.insightec.com/

Contact
InSightec
Victor Reddick, 214-630-2000
Sr. VP and General Manager
Arthur Chan, Ph.D., 214-630-200
Manager, clinical marketing & professional