Microsulis Medical Ltd (MML) successfully launched the Acculis percutaneous microwave tissue ablation system, Accu2i pMTA, at the second European Conference on Interventional Oncology (ECIO) in Florence, Italy. A revolutionary new device for destroying tumours, the system is a 1.8mm diameter closed water-cooled needle that brings the benefits of microwave ablation into the realm of interventional radiology, with applications in liver, lung, bone, kidney and appropriate other sites where local tumour control can be safely secured using volume ablation.
This year’s ECIO attracted over 800 specialist interventional radiologists, surgeons and interventionalists from around the world, as well as providing a major industry technology showcase for leading device manufacturers and distributors.
“The conference has been an extremely successful launch for us” commented Stuart McIntyre, CEO of Microsulis. “This is especially pleasing to us, as it is the latest in a series of product innovations, based on the unique Acculis MTA technology – all developed and patented in the UK.”
The Accu2i pMTA is the most powerful tumour ablation system currently available, combining extreme ease of use with the widest range of clinical applications. The device is a single high power high frequency 2.45GHz microwave needle that can address tumours over five centimetres in size in just six minutes, and is therefore between three to ten times faster than other systems. Its launch follows two years of extensive clinical use and evaluation around the world in major liver centres in the US, Asia-Pacific, UK and Europe. It was CE-marked in February 2010 and further international regulatory clearances are expected shortly.
“This system enables surgeons to extend treatment to liver cancer patients who would not normally have been treated. Ongoing studies suggest significantly improved clinical outcomes for tumour control, adding to our armamentarium” said Mr David Lloyd, Consultant HPB Surgeon from Leicester Royal Infirmary, who invented the system along with Professor Nigel Cronin and his microwave science team from the University of Bath, England.
