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ProUroVision - Proprietary Vision Technology for Thermal Therapy Systems
Our second product, the ProUroVision system, is a proprietary vision technology for thermal therapy systems designed to aid in the treatment of BPH and other prostate diseases. Thermal therapy is a minimally invasive catheter-based therapy that uses microwave technology to precisely and preferentially heat diseased areas of the prostate to a temperature sufficient to cause cell death and is the urology community’s accepted alternative to surgical intervention. The ProUroVision’s unique and proprietary Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) technology will allow the urologist to observe the heat migrate in real time through the prostate during the thermal treatment. This product will give vision to what is currently a blind procedure and in so doing, protect the urethral tissue and adjacent organs, enhancing safety and efficacy.
Our strategy for the ProUroVision system is to partner with a major prostate thermal therapy company and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to develop an enhancement to existing thermal therapy systems. We believe this enhancement will overcome a significant obstacle to the wide-spread adoption of this type of treatment by providing a visioning capability that will allow the physician to observe in real-time the heat migration through the prostate, which will enhance the safety and efficacy of this type of treatment. We expect that such a capability will make thermal therapy the treatment of choice for enlarged prostates, and significantly increase both the number of systems in place and the number of treatments performed. Each treatment will require the use of a disposable package that we will supply, thus ensuring us a long-term revenue stream. By partnering in this way we not only share development costs, but also gain rapid market penetration by becoming the exclusive supplier into a large base of installed systems.
Our first product is the ProUroScan, which is designed to significantly improve prostate examination and diagnosis. The ProUroScan will provide a quick, quantitative, and chartable diagnostic procedure that is capable of determining both the size and volume of the prostate and size and location of any abnormalities (hardness, nodules, lesions, etc.) throughout the prostate.
The ProUroScan is an imaging device that guides a physician’s use of a tactile, sensor probe to obtain an image of the prostate. The prostate image is displayed on a screen that allows a physician to identify the specific location of soft-tissue abnormalities and determine the relative size of the prostate upon completion of the imaging procedure.
The ProUroScan system’s key capabilities include:
- Location of Tissue Abnormalities and Measuring Prostate Size – t he ProUroScan identifies the specific location of potential prostate disease.
- Monitoring Prostate Disease Progression – the ProUroScan will provide a baseline measurement of a patient’s prostate for making future comparisons and/or monitoring the advancement of prostate disease.
- Producing Standardized and Chartable DRE Results – the ProUroScan gives a physician the ability to have a chartable printout of the diagnostic process and the ability to obtain a second opinion from a specialist (such as a urologist) using standardized results as a means of comparison.
- The system enables one to fully palpate the prostate regardless of anatomy or weight of patient or finger size of physician.
ProUroVision is a technology that the company has licensed which provides significant enhancements to existing microwave thermal therapy for the treatment of BPH and cancer.
Current microwave thermal therapy treatment utilizes a catheter that is inserted into the patient’s urethra. The catheter contains an antenna that radiates microwave energy in an omni-directional, 360° pattern. The tissue of the prostate absorbs this energy and heat is inductively generated to increase the temperature above 45° C, which is necessary to cause necrosis of the tissue. After this tissue dies and is eliminated by the body, the enlargement of the prostate is reduced, restoring urine flow.
We believe that our unique and proprietary EIT technology will provide a significant enhancement to thermal therapy by allowing the clinician to accurately monitor the migration of heat within the prostate during the procedure. The clinician can be assured that sufficient, but not excessive, thermal energy is applied, thereby maximizing the procedure’s safety and therapeutic effectiveness. EIT is an imaging technology in which an image of the conductivity or resistivity of part of the body is inferred from surface electrical measurements. The heating that occurs during a thermal therapy procedure produces a change in the local conductivity or resistivity throughout the treatment volume. These local changes in the electrical properties of the tissue can be measured by a system of miniature electrodes placed on the patient’s body, and a rectal probe, all of which connect to an electronically controlled low-frequency power supply. Each individual electrode will receive a specific current and electronically measure all the possible induced voltages among the electrode array. An inversion algorithm is then employed to create a real-time image of the thermal pattern.
On July 27, 2005, we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) with Urologix, Inc. (“Urologix”) pursuant to which the parties will co-develop new products utilizing ProUroCare’s electrical impedance tomography (“EIT”) technology. The EIT technology is expected to be assembled into modules that will be compatible with and incorporated into Urologix’ existing thermal therapy systems. We are currently well into the first phase of what the parties expect will be several phases of research, testing and development over the next 18 to 24 months. ProUroCare and Urologix have agreed to equally share in the development costs of these phases. If the development of the modules is successful, the parties contemplate entering into definitive agreements pursuant to which Urologix would market the new products subject to a license agreement.
The EIT system will be assembled into modules that will be compatible with, and added on to, Urologix’ existing thermal therapy systems. The modules will include a low-frequency power supply, electrodes, a rectal probe, monitor and software containing the proprietary algorithms. This system will enable urologists to observe the real-time migration of heat through the prostate during treatment and adjust the amount of energy applied in order to protect the urethral tissue and adjacent organs. This information and increased energy efficiency will also help to minimize damage to healthy tissue.