U-M histotripsy research center launches to advance sound-wave-based cancer treatment (Extended AD Available)

Expanding use of a non-invasive, ultrasound-based cancer treatment is the ultimate goal of the new University of Michigan Histotripsy Center, a first-of-its-kind facility launched today.

Invented at University of Michigan Engineering, histotripsy is the first commercially available ultrasound-based approach to treating tumors, allowing them to be destroyed without surgery and with few side effects to patients. Since receiving FDA authorization for liver tumors in 2023, U-M startup HistoSonics has installed over 130 treatment systems around the world, and they've been used to treat over 5,000 patients. 

The Histotripsy Center is open for use by researchers both inside and outside U-M. The broader access to its specialized equipment and unparalleled, inventor-level expertise is expected to accelerate the technology's scientific and clinical progress and enable more patients to benefit faster.

Initially, the histotripsy research center will take a three-pronged approach to bolstering research and education.

A cancer program will focus on fundamental research as well as clinical and pre-clinical research to treat more cancer types.

A neuro program will work to advance histotripsy as a non-invasive treatment for brain diseases. 

An education program aims to build the next generation of histotripsy scientists, engineers and clinicians and chart the future of acoustic medicine. It will include programs for graduate students and postdocs.

Phase two of the center will focus on training clinicians exploring new treatment indications and pushing promising new human trials forward.

The Center's strategy is to make collaboration with outside institutions as easy as possible. Researchers can come to Ann Arbor to perform tests with the center's equipment—which is not commercially available, said Zhen Xu, the Li Ka Shing Professor of Biomedical Engineering, a professor of radiology and neurosurgery, and a co-inventor of histotripsy.

For researchers who cannot come to Ann Arbor, a histotripsy "travel system" of U-M's machines and experts can travel to locations around the U.S, free of charge.

"In the next half decade, I envision the Histotripsy Center expanding from our lab to support thousands of researchers around the country, conduct as many as 100 projects at one time, publish over 100 joint papers, and file 50 patents a year," Xu said.

What sets histotripsy apart is its ability to destroy tumors without the physical and emotional toll that comes with surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.

"The future of cancer care will be defined not only by greater precision and effectiveness, but by our ability to fundamentally reimagine the patient experience," said Thomas J. Wang, M.D., Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and Chief Academic Officer at Michigan Medicine. 

"The opening of the new center at U-M represents an exciting next chapter in the evolution of this groundbreaking science," said Mike Blue, HistoSonics' president and CEO.

Learn more about U-M's new Histotripsy Center here: histotripsy.umich.edu

More links:

HistoSonics: https://histosonics.com/the-science/

Zhen Xu’s Lab: https://histotripsy.umich.edu/