St. Vincent’s Hospital (Australia) Assessing Focused Ultrasound as a Treatment for High Blood Pressure

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Patient recruitment is underway at St. Peter’s Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria for a clinical trial assessing the safety of a focused ultrasound system in treating patients with drug-resistant hypertension. Manufactured by privately-held, US-based Kona Medical, the system is designed to noninvasively ablate renal nerves, which play a significant role in determining blood pressure. Entitled, “A Feasibility Study: A Safety Evaluation of Renal Denervation Using Focused Therapeutic Ultrasound on Patients With Refractory Hypertension,” the study is expected to treat as many as 20 patients between now and September 2013 and follow them for 24 weeks. Principal Investigator is Robert Whitbourn, MD.