InSightec's ExAblate(R) 2000 to be Highlighted at Annual Meeting of the Radiology Society of North America

    HAIFA, Israel, November 15 /PRNewswire/ -- InSightec announced today that
 it's ExAblate(R) 2000 technology will be featured in seven presentations at
 the 91st Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society
 of North America (RSNA). The meeting will be held at McCormick Place in
 Chicago, November 22 - December 2, 2005. The ExAblate 2000 combines magnetic
 resonance imaging (MRI) with high intensity focused ultrasound to
 non-invasively thermally ablate (destroy) tumors in the body. InSightec
 continues to develop this leading technology approved by the FDA last year
 for uterine fibroids and has launched a multi-million dollar program to
 conduct human clinical trials on the technology's potential use in treating
 other oncology indications including breast, bone, liver, and brain tumors
 while continuing the clinical research in fertility preserving treatment of
 uterine fibroids.
     The ExAblate 2000 is being used in 25 sites worldwide and has treated
 over 1400 women in the past year with uterine fibroids, a benign but painful
 condition that affects approximately 25% of women of childbearing age. In the
 oncology field, more than 130 patients with breast cancer were treated
 globally under research protocols.
     The ExAblate 2000 System will be exhibited at the GE Healthcare booth,
 #7714 in the North Hall. Also, Fiona Fennessy's studies on uterine fibroids
 have been selected by RSNA to be highlighted in a press conference on
 Wednesday, November 30 (please see details below).
     Following are the ExAblate 2000 talks and sessions at RSNA:
 
     Presentation Title/Abstract     Presenter       Date/Time/Location
     Number
     Feasibility of                  Atsuya Okada,   Sunday, November 27
     Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging   MD, IseiKai
     and ADC Map to Predict Necrosis Hospital,       11:05 am - 11:15 am
     of Uterine Fibroids during MR   Osaka, Japan
     Imaging-guided Focused                          E353A
     Ultrasound Surgery (SSA06-03)
     Magnetic Resonance guided       Wadyslaw        Sunday, November 27
     focused ultrasound of Uterine   Gedroyc, MD,
     Fibroids: Treating Larger       St. Mary's      11:55 am - 12:15 pm
     Leiomyomas (SSA06-08)           Hospital,
                                     London, England E353A
     Treatment Outcome in MR-guided  Fiona Fennessy, Monday, November 28
     Focused Ultrasound Surgery      MD, Brigham and
     (MRgFUS) for Uterine Fibroids:  Women's         11:10 am - 11:40 am
     Analysis of the Effect of       Hospital,
     Baseline Uterine Size and       Boston, MA      E253CD
     Number of Fibroids (SSCO2-05)
     Evaluation of symptom relief    Fiona Fennessy, Monday, November 28
     and fibroid reduction one year  MD, Brigham and
     following MR-guided Focused     Women's         11:30 am - 11:40 am
     Ultrasound Surgery (SSCO2-07)   Hospital,
                                     Boston, MA      E253CD
     Novel Breast Therapies and      Dave            Monday, November 28
     Techniques                      Gianfelice, MD,
                                     Toronto General 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
     (Invited speaker). (SFF01)      Hospital,       E350
                                     Toronto,
                                     Ontario, Canada
     RSNA Press Conference:          Fiona Fennessy, Wednesday,
     Noninvasive Ultrasound          MD, Brigham and November 30
     Treatment Shrinks Fibroids      Women's
                                     Hospital,       9:45 am
                                     Boston, MA      Media Room (Level
                                                     2, Hall E)
     MR guided focused ultrasound    Hidemi          Thursday, December 1
     ablation of breast cancer       Furusawa, MD,
     (LPR01-04)                      Breastopia      12:45pm - 12:55 pm
                                     Namba Hospital, (Poster Session -
                                     Miyazaki, Japan  Theater 2A)
     Interventional Oncology         Kullervo        Thursday, December 1
     Symposium Session: Image        Hynynen, PhD    1:40 pm - 2:00 pm
     guidance for Oncologic          Brigham and
     Intervention MR guided focused  Women's         S101AB
     ultrasound interventions        Hospital,
                                     Boston, MA
     Evaluation of Safety and        Fiona Fennessy, Friday, December 2
     Efficacy of a Continued Access  MD, Brigham and 11:10 am - 11:20 am
     Study for MR-guided Focused     Women's
     Ultrasound Surgery of uterine   Hospital,       E350
     fibroids (SSTO2-05)             Boston, MA
 
 
     About ExAblate 2000
     The ExAblate 2000 is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
 approved system to use the breakthrough MRgFUS technology that combines MRI -
 to visualize tissues in the body, plan the treatment and monitor in real time
 treatment outcome - and high intensity focused ultrasound to thermally ablate
 tissue. MR thermal feedback, 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
 received FDA approval for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids in
 October 2004.
     Uterine fibroids are benign growths in the uterus that affect
 approximately 13 million women of child bearing age in the U.S. Each year
 approximately 200,000 women have hysterectomies, to treat uterine fibroids.
 Unlike hysterectomy, myomectomy and UAE, this technology is completely
 non-invasive using MR-guided focused ultrasound to thermally ablate (destroy)
 tumors in the uterus. For women this means no hospital stay and only 1-2 days
 of recovery as opposed to the one week (UAE); two weeks (myomectomy); or six
 weeks (hysterectomy) usually associated with treatment of this condition.
     About InSightec
     InSightec Ltd. is a privately held company owned by Elbit Medical 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 135 employees and has invested more than
 $80 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
     For more information about uterine fibroids, please visit
 http://www.uterine-fibroids.org
 
     Contact Information
     InSightec Ltd.
     Tel: +972-4-813-1313
     Email: info@insightec.com
 
     For media inquiries, contact:
     Fern Lazar
     Lazar Partners, Ltd.
     Tel: +1-212-867-1762
     Email: flazar@lazarpartners.com
 
 
 
 

SOURCE  InSightec Ltd.