MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) System for Thermal Ablation of Prostate Cancer: Pre-Clinical Evaluation in Canines

Nathan McDannold¹, Hadas Ziso², Benny Assif², Arik Hananel², Natalia Vykhodtseva¹, Peri Gretton², Magdalini Pilatou¹, Steve Haker¹, Clare Tempany¹

A transrectal MRgFUS system was tested in a canine prostate model. Focal volumes in each half of the prostate were targeted, with high energy in one half of the gland for ablation and on the other with lower-energy sonications to test our ability to localize the focal spot before causing thermal tissue damage. All sonications (n=155) were readily observed with proton resonance frequency (PRF) MR temperature imaging, contrast enhanced MRI and histology. The prostate gland moved during the experiments. The resultant focal temperature changes were 24.28.2C.