Profound Medical (OTCQX:PRFMF; TSXV:PRN) has successfully completed the first sale of a TULSA-PRO system in Finland to the Turku University Hospital, in collaboration with Royal Philips, who is working in partnership with Profound to commercialize the TULSA-PRO system in Europe.
As the first TULSA-PRO sale in Finland, the agreement with Turku continues Profound’s recent commercial progress into the European market, where it has sold systems in Spain, the UK and Germany since receiving CE Mark designation in April 2016.
TULSA-PRO combines real-time MRI with transurethral, robotically-driven therapeutic ultrasound and closed-loop thermal feedback control designed to provide precise ablation of the prostate while simultaneously protecting critical surrounding anatomy from potential side effects.
Operation of the TULSA-PRO system will be administered under Dr. Roberto Blanco Sequeiros, chairman of the Medical Imaging Center at Turku and under a leading European urologist, Dr. Peter Bostrom.
According to Dr. Sequeiros, the technology holds promise in multiple areas of prostate treatment and care, including focal therapy for localized prostate cancer, treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia, salvage radiation therapy and the debulking of tumors.
“Survival rates for prostate cancer are high, but current therapies often come with side effects that include erectile dysfunction, incontinence and bowel problems,” Dr. Sequeiros said in a statement.
“Though further testing is required, the evidence is compelling, and suggests that the TULSA-PRO system could represent a major breakthrough in prostate treatment, offering patients a therapy that is safe, accurate and effective with minimal side effects,” he added.
Arun Menawat, Profound’s CEO, said that as Profound continues its expansion into Europe and other international markets, “we look forward to the day when this procedure becomes the new standard of care, helping patients quickly return to their daily lives.”
