WATERFORD – HistoSonics and its Vortx Rx medical device which uses sound energy to treat tissue inside the body without the need for traditional surgery is the Medical Main Street INNO-VATOR of the Year.
The award will be given to the Ann Arbor-based company on Thursday during INNO-VENTION 2013 ? a Medical Main Street conference, said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
?This incredible technology has the potential to change the way we view surgery,? Patterson said. ?The notion that doctors can use high intensity sound to perform procedures that until now could only be done using much more invasive methods is amazing. The implications for future uses are profound. I congratulate the HistoSonics team.?
Christine Gibbons, HistoSonics president and chief operating officer, said the Vortx Rx was approved for investigational use in clinical trials on humans in May by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. Clinical trials began in July to treat patients with urinary problems due to an enlarged prostate. The trial phase is expected to last several years. The discovery and development work on the technology was performed at the University of Michigan.
Six units were made, three of which are being used for clinical trials at sites in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. The hope is the device will be used for other clinical indications beyond urology.
?We are humbled and honored to have been selected for the award and that Medical Main Street has recognized the potential impact the Vortx Rx device can have,? Gibbons said.
