Home Diseases and Conditions Urinary Incontinence, Stress 

Urinary Incontinence, Stress 

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Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with stress urinary incontinence. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge in the vagina, focused ultrasound produces physiologic and structural changes that will decrease the incidence of stress urinary incontinence.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of stress urinary incontinence include medication, absorbent clothing, or platelet-rich fibrin injections.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive – and perhaps more effective – alternative to conventional therapy. Focused ultrasound carries less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in Krakow, Poland, is conducting a randomized comparison of repeated intravaginal focused ultrasound treatment compared to repeated, sub-urethral injections of autologous centrifuged platelet-rich plasma.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for stress urinary incontinence is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Önder Dirican A, Ceran MU, Kahraman O, Sönmez MG. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of female urinary incontinence: A retrospective analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Oct 4;103(40):e39940. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039940. PMID: 39465710 

Robin D, Peyronnet B, Bentellis I, El-Akri M, Cornu JN, Brierre T, Cousin T, Gaillard V, Poussot B, Dupuis H, Tricard T, Hermieu N, Pitout A, Beraud F, Chevallier D, Bruyere F, Biardeau X, Monsaint H, Corbel L, Hermieu JF, Lecoanet P, Capon G, Saussine C, Gamé X, Léon P. Artificial urinary sphincter in patients with urinary incontinence after High Intensity Focused ultrasound. Prog Urol. 2022 Mar;32(4):284-290. doi: 10.1016/j.purol.2021.11.004. Epub 2022 Feb 4.

Liu D, Adams M, Burdette EC, Diederich CJ. Dual-sectored transurethral ultrasound for thermal treatment of stress urinary incontinence: in silico studies in 3D anatomical models. Med Biol Eng Comput. 2020 Jun;58(6):1325-1340. doi: 10.1007/s11517-020-02152-6. Epub 2020 Apr 10.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.