This week, the OneMedPlace team is down in Orlando attending the American Urological Association’s annual meeting. We’ll be capturing some great video footage from the floor which we’ll be sharing later this month.
While we’ve got Urology on the brain, I thought I’d weigh in on the recently announced upgrade to the Urologix enlarged prostate treatment catheter, CTC Advance.
It’ll be years (with any luck) before I need worry about my prostate, but working in the device space, I’m cognizant of what lays ahead.
By the time I’m 60, chances are good that I’ll experience symptoms of an enlarged prostate; by the time I’m 70 or 80 that likelihood rises to 90%.
Enlarged prostate, also know as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), is a condition in which the prostate gland becomes enlarged and may cause problems related to urination. Enlarged prostate is not life threatening nor is it cancer; however, if left untreated, it can lead to more serious health problems such as urinary retention or infections, bladder stones or kidney damage.
Available since 1997, the Urologix Cooled ThermoTherapy is a non-surgical treatment for BPH. Marketed under the brand names Targis and Prostatron, the office-based procedure can treat 90% of patients with BPH in a single, 30-minute session.
Cooled ThermoTherapy uses targeted microwave energy to heat and shrink enlarged prostate tissue while a cooling mechanism protects healthy, surrounding tissue. The treatment is performed on an outpatient basis requiring only local anesthesia and/or oral medications. Within weeks, the majority of men notice improvements in their symptoms and overall quality of life.
The recently launched CTC Advance microwave catheter is the latest advancement in this technology, improving flexibility and increasing the cooled surface area proximal to the treatment area by 50%. This makes the device easier to insert; the additional cooling helps further preserve healthy urethral tissue.
The CTC Advance microwave catheter has been used to treat patients in the U.S. since FDA approval on March 31, 2008. According to the company, physician feedback during this period confirms the utility of improvements.
Every year, 2.5 million men seek treatment for the disorder; BPH is a $500 million addressable market. Doctors typically net $500 for the procedure. Approximately 60-80% of patients who receive the therapy are eligible for Medicare coverage, and the remainder is covered by private insurers.