Corewell Health recently acquired new technology to treat severe liver disease and certain liver cancers.
Histotripsy uses precision lasers to destroy tumors on the liver.
“The really unique thing about this particular device is that it's completely non- invasive so in the past, we've had to stick a needle into a patient to perform an ablation but now we can do it without even making an incision or poking with a needle so completely not invasive. But we can get the same result.”
Dr. James Morrison is an interventional radiologist at Corewell Health.
In April, his team successfully treated their first patient with the histotripsy device.
“The tumor is gone for all intents and purposes. He'll continue to be monitored going forward just to make sure nothing new appears either in the spot that was treated or anywhere else in the liver but its successful. And we are just about to treat our second patient this week. “
The technique is also being tested for other uses besides liver cancer.
“The company is in trials now for treatment of kidney cancer, and that trial should hopefully be finished by the end of this year. Then a second trial has started within the last few months for treatment of pancreatic cancer, and that is particularly exciting because we don't have a lot of great options when it comes to treating pancreatic cancers.”
Corewell Health is one of about 30 centers in the country offering histotripsy procedures.
