Renown Health has reported that the first patients had undergone targeted liver tumour treatments using HistoSonics’ Edison System histotripsy technology.

The Edison System is designed for the non-invasive mechanical destruction of liver tumours, including the complete or partial destruction of unresectable liver tumours through histotripsy.

It has not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat any specific disease or condition, and its use in kidney applications is limited to investigational use by federal law.

The technology employs focused ultrasound waves to accurately destroy liver tumours. It is said to be effective against both primary and metastatic tumours, including those unsuitable for traditional surgery.

The Edison System's histotripsy procedure has precision and accuracy, targeting only tumour cells and sparing healthy tissue.

As a completely non-invasive technique, histotripsy eliminates the need for incisions, which can lead to less pain and quicker patient recovery.

Furthermore, the absence of surgical intervention reduces the risk of post-operative complications such as infections and bleeding.

Clinical trial results from the company have demonstrated a technical success rate of 95.5% in destroying malignant tissue in 44 patients with liver cancer or metastatic tumours.

Renown Health president and CEO Brian Erling said: “We are grateful to a generous local donor, who provided us with a $1.4m private donation to help purchase the equipment, training, and establish one of the few histotripsy programmes in the US at Renown.

“This non-invasive technology is a game changer in helping our liver surgeons and surgical oncologists to target and destroy malignant tissue in patients with either liver cancer or tumours that have spread to the liver from cancers based elsewhere in the body.”

Renown joins the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins to offer the non-invasive clinical procedure.