Vapor ablation-an innovative minimally invasive cancer therapy

Private medical companies in the United StatesFrancis Medicalis a privately held medical device startup based in Minneapolis that develops treatments for urological cancer and is convinced that minimally invasive therapies can stop cancer from developing. Founder and Chief Technology OfficerMichael Hoeydeveloped a vapor ablation therapy (Convective Water Vapor Energy), convert sterile water into water vapor, store heat energy in the form of controllable dose, and then transport this heat energy to prostate tissue in the form of convective radio frequency to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) for the purpose.

benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)

benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)It is a common disease in middle-aged and elderly men, and the prevalence rate increases with age. In50By age, more than half of men had symptomaticBPH; and in70Years old, near90% of men have microscopic evidence of an enlarged prostate; the severity of symptoms also increases with age,60~70Patients in the age group have27% had moderate to severe symptoms, while70Patients over the age37% had moderate to severe symptoms.

BPHIt is the result of an imbalance between the continuous production and natural death of the glandular cells of the prostate, the overproduction of which leads to an increase in the size of the prostate. With age, the size of the prostate gradually increases to its normal size (ca.20gram weight) twice or more, after the gland reaches a certain size, the fibromuscular tissue of the external prostate capsule restricts expansion, and the tissue in the capsule compresses and restricts the prostate urethra, thus causing resistance to urine flow.

InBPHin the early stages of, drug treatment (e. g., alpha-blockers) can alleviate some symptoms, however,BPHThe advanced stages can only be intervened by surgery or less invasive ablation devices. The thermal ablation method of the existing technology is.RF(radiofrequency) energy is delivered to the prostate tissue, but due to smooth muscle tissue and alpha-Adrenergic receptors in the prostatic urethra or transition zone can not be evenly ablated, thisRFEnergy delivery methods may not achieve durable results.

Vapor Ablation Therapy

This is a minimally invasive treatment that introduces hot steam into the inside of the prostate along the gap, allowing the steam to controllably ablate the prostate tissue. Currently mainly used for treatmentBPHThis will then expand the potential of water vapor ablation as a non-invasive treatment for more urinary cancers, including prostate, kidney and bladder cancers.

Hoey"Based on the success of the initial clinical trial, we believe that the use of vapor ablation for prostate cancer will be an effective new treatment, without the side effects of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction associated with radical prostatectomy," he said. We predict that this technology will be a truly minimally invasive breakthrough, which can improve the quality of life of patients and provide more cancer treatment options for patients with prostate, bladder and kidney cancer."

Domestic patent situation

Regarding the patent application situation of vapor ablation therapy in China, the earliest application date of the vapor ablation method is2009 Year11Month6A vapor therapy system is disclosed in the Japanese patent application. AuthorizedCN102271605BandCN102271605Ball according35 U.S.C. 119Required in2008Year11Month6The name of the day submitted is"Systems and Methods for Treatment of Prostatic TissueU.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/112,097of interest, of whichCN105434039BYesCN102271605Bapplication for division.

CN105832403AYesCN102821710BThe division of the application,CN108635041AIt isCN105813591BThe division of the application,CN105832403AandCN108635041AIt is still at the substantive review stage. Other patents that are still in the substantive examination stage,CN108472070ARequired in2015Year12Month18U.S. Provisional Application filed onNo. 62/269,776and in2016Year7Month1U.S. Provisional Application filed onNo. 62/357,742priority;CN107530118ARequirements2015Year5Month13Submitted on the day, entitled"Systems and Methods for Treating the Bladder with Condensable VaporU.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/160,963another patent that is still in the substantive examination stage.CN107205770Ais required in2015Year1Month29The title of the day's submission is"Vapor Ablation Systems and MethodsU.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/109,540of interests.