HIFU Prostate Services announces groundbreaking partnerships to offer prostate cancer treatments

HIFU Prostate Services, LLC, a leading provider of minimally-invasive prostate cancer treatment using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound ("HIFU"), announces groundbreaking partnerships with Michael J. Lazar, MD in Santa Rosa, Calif. and John H. Jurige, MD in Louisville, Ky., to offer HIFU treatments for prostate cancer. The Sonablate^® HIFU devices will be delivered to San Francisco Surgery Center and First Urology today and the first patients are scheduled for HIFU treatment tomorrow in Louisville with Jurige.

Lazar and Jurige will each work in partnership with HIFU Prostate Services to establish their own HIFU program. In addition to treating patients, this will include offering training to other physicians in the greater surrounding urology community.

The Sonablate is the first device to receive regulatory authorization from the FDA for the ablation of prostate tissue.

John W. Linn, chief executive officer of HIFU Prostate Services said, "HIFU has been available in other countries for more than 10 years, but we are proud to be the first to make this game-changing technology available in the United States. The partnerships represent a major milestone in broadening the availability of treatment options for men facing prostate cancer."

Lazar, who also serves as Medical Director of HIFU Prostate Services, has been working with HIFU since 2007 and was one of three physicians who proctored cases during clinical trials. "Finally men in the US can receive this innovative, minimally invasive therapy for their prostate cancers without traveling internationally. Our site is proud to receive one of the first Sonablate^® HIFU Systems in the country and provide concierge level care."

Jurige, a board-certified urologist, has been practicing HIFU for over 8 years and is considered a national expert in HIFU therapy. "Long-term studies confirm the effectiveness of the Sonablate^® compared to other more invasive therapies, stage for stage. I believe that in the coming years, HIFU will be accepted as the preferred therapy for men with early prostate cancer," said Jurige.

"Men are looking for prostate cancer treatment options that preserve quality of life. We are excited to partner with Dr. Lazar and Dr. Jurige to give patients access to HIFU," said Linn. "They are both outstanding clinicians and pioneers in minimally invasive treatment options."