H E A LT H C A R E
This is game-changing technology that will transform how we treat diseases in the future... DR. MAURICE R. FERRÉ, MIAMIBASED CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF INSIGHTEC, AN ISRAELI COMPANY THAT HAS DEVELOPED INCISION-FREE, ULTRASOUND SURGERY
High Tech Surgery ISRAELI COMPANY INSIGHTEC IS REVOLUTIONIZING MEDICAL SURGERY – FROM MIAMI BY JOSEPH A. MANN JR.
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ssential Tremor is a debilitating neurological disorder that causes uncontrolled shaking, mostly of the hands and arms. In the U.S. alone, it affects more than 10 million people. Some who suffer the effects of Essential Tremor can be treated by medication for a limited period. But now a new medical technology is offering an alternative treatment with long-term results. Insightec, an Israeli company run from Miami, has developed incision-free, ultrasound surgery technology that can not only deal with Essential Tremor, but is being successfully applied to tremors in Parkison’s patients, locally confined prostate cancer, uterine fibroids, and for palliation of
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pain from bone cancer metasteses. Insightec is also testing a broader range of surgical applications for use in the brain and other parts of the body. Currently, it is carrying out over 30 active trials in clinical centers around the world, says Dr. Maurice R. Ferré, Miami-based chairman and CEO of the privately held international healthcare company. “This is game-changing technology that will transform how we treat diseases in the future,” he says. “We look at treating patients through a different lens than the pharmaceutical companies.” Guided by a physician using an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) device to precisely locate a target, Insightec’s system
employs a focused ultrasound generator to heat and destroy tissue – typically in the brain – and relieve patients’ symptoms. It is surgery without a scalpel. Insightec’s technology received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 and is currently used in more than 150 clinics and hospitals in the U.S. and a score of foreign countries. It has successfully treated thousands of patients and is rapidly expanding its coverage. An outstanding figure in developing new medical technology for more than two decades, Dr. Ferré took over as chairman and CEO of Insightec in 2014. He was attracted by the company’s technological GLOBALMIAMIMAGAZINE.COM
