
The PERFUSE study is a University Hospital Research project funded by the French National Research Agency. It is a partnership between the academic centers conducting the study, which include: the Laboratory for Therapeutic Applications of Ultrasound (LabTAU); the Biomedical Imaging Research Laboratory (Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé or CREATIS); the Lyon Cancer Center (Centre Leon Berard or CLB) and the University Hospitals of Lyon (Hospices Civil de Lyon or HCL); and two international companies: EDAP and Vermon.
“This project aims to improve the treatment of prostate cancer through targeted ablation of the tumor by HIFU,” said Principal Investigator Prof. Sébastien Crouzet.
As an alternative to standard prostate cancer therapies, HIFU focal treatment targets only the area affected by the cancer and leaves the remainder of the prostate intact, which dramatically reduces the risks of impotence and incontinence. Focal One is a noninvasive treatment that combines ultrasound-MRI fused imaging, focused ultrasound energy with proven efficacy, and immediate post-treatment contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging to confirm ablation in the targeted area.
This project will provide an updated clinical evaluation of the focal HIFU treatment applied to localized cancers and aims to improve imaging and therapy performance in order to ultimately improve focal treatment outcomes.
In parallel to the clinical trials, scientists also plan on further developments, including 1) a computer-assisted diagnostic (CAD) system for prostate MRI to provide probability maps that highlight cancerous areas; 2) new imaging methods (MR/US elastography) for improved tissue characterization and treatment planning; 3) novel F-HIFU energy delivery and new treatment planning strategies; and 4) a new type of dual-mode planar transducer for high-resolution imaging and therapy using capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs).