Trans-Cranial Ultrasound Clot Buster

I have been speaking about this technology for years in the classroom.  Now it seems we have a commercial product with a CE endorsement that is evidence driven to be beneficial in the treatment of ischemic stroke (caused by a clot).  This technology uses ultrasound to vibrate a blood clot in the brain allowing better perfusion of clot busting drugs to break it up.  It has been used in research for years, but was very user intensive requiring the person aiming the probe to have extensive training in cranial anatomy.  This news is wonderful as ischemic strokes are a significant cause of death and disability around the world.  This technology cannot be used in hemorrhagic strokes though.  Happy New Year All!

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cerevast Therapeutics Inc., a privately held medical technology company, announced today that it has received CE mark clearance of its SonoLysis Headframe System, the Clotbust ER™ providing approval to commercialize the product in Europe.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111219/SF24705LOGO)

The Clotbust ER™ is a first-in-class ultrasound device for the treatment of ischemic stroke, representing a novel product in an extremely high area of unmet medical need. Designed for rapid deployment in the emergency room setting, the device has been engineered to non-invasively deliver therapeutic ultrasound energy to the region of the occluded vessel in the brain as a treatment for ischemic stroke when used in combination with standard intravenous thrombolytic therapy (tissue plasminogen activator - tPA/Alteplase).

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cerevast-therapeutics-receives-ce-mark-for-clotbust-er-ultrasound-stroke-treatment-device-135850183.html