HistoSonics
Modern-day cancer treatments generally involve some unpleasant side effects. Chemotherapy makes patients lose their hair and feel sick. Surgical removal is invasive and can have complications. What if there were a way to tackle tumors without radiation or incisions? That’s where Plymouth-based HistoSonics Inc. comes in. The company uses ultrasound technology to target and “liquify” tumors in the liver, and it involves no invasive procedures. The firm’s signature device, Edison, is still under development, but it could one day change the game for liver tumor treatments. This past fall, HistoSonics received “breakthrough device designation” from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the product, which essentially means regulators will do what they can to help speed up development and review of the product. For now, the company is focusing on liver tumors, but the technology could one day be expanded to destroy tumors elsewhere in the body, including in the kidneys and pancreas. “Success for us is defined with every successful patient treatment and ultimately providing access to as many patients and physicians around the world as possible and across a very broad number of significant diseases,” says president and CEO Mike Blue.
