USHIFU Announces Opening of Can-Am HIFU in Toronto

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- USHIFU, LLC, the exclusive distributor of the Sonablate(R) 500 (Focus Surgery, Inc. of Indianapolis, IN) in North America, has partnered with six urological thought leaders to make HIFU with the Sonablate(R) 500 available in Toronto for the minimally invasive treatment of prostate cancer. These urologists are led by Jack Barkin, MD, Chief of Urology at Humber River Regional Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at University of Toronto and Neil Fleshner, MD, Chief of Urology for the University Health Network in Toronto. Other well-known Toronto urologists in the partnership include Antonio Finelli, MD; Laurence Klotz, MD; Sidney Radomski, MD and Michael Robinette, MD.

"The partnership represents a significant step forward in our goal of providing HIFU therapy with the Sonablate(R) 500 throughout the Americas. The Toronto location is ideal; the international airport and world class accommodations provide traveling patients with easy access to the HIFU technology," said John Linn, USHIFU Vice President of Finance.

"Prostate cancer is the number one diagnosed cancer in North American men. We are diagnosing it at a much younger age and earlier stage and therefore can attempt to cure the patient," Barkin said. "In general, a man diagnosed with prostate cancer would like aggressive treatment. However, if possible, he would choose the least invasive, but most effective therapy for this condition which may have a lower risk of some of the life altering side effects of radiation or surgery, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction."

After review of non-surgical alternatives for prostate cancer, Barkin and Fleshner felt confident and impressed enough to spend time in Mexico treating patients with HIFU.

Having spoken to patients, families and other noted urologic specialists and after performing the procedure on patients, Barkin and Fleshner established Can-Am HIFU with Finelli, Klotz, Radomski and Robinette to make HIFU available in Toronto. Barkin and Fleshner are also pleased for their patients because HIFU with the Sonablate(R) 500 can be an outpatient treatment and patients can literally travel the day following their procedure.

Can-Am HIFU is now open and physicians are available to treat Canadian and American patients with this minimally invasive therapy for prostate cancer. For additional information, visit http://www.internationalhifu.com/ or call 1-888-874-4384.

HIFU, which stands for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, utilizes focused sound waves to rapidly raise the temperature in a targeted area, thus destroying the tissue in a matter of seconds. This type of acoustic ablation is delivered through a transrectal probe that allows the physician to perform HIFU without having to make a single incision.

The Sonablate(R) 500, developed by Focus Surgery Inc. and manufactured by Misonix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSON) , of Farmingdale, NY is the only HIFU device in Canada that does not require a preliminary transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) surgical procedure.

Although the Sonablate(R) 500 does not yet have United States FDA approval, the next phase of clinical trials for localized prostate cancer are expected to begin soon. An FDA approved safety trial for locally recurrent prostate cancer is already enrolling patients in the USA.

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