Urinary Tract Infection

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Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with urinary tract infections. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
The ultrasound beams converge on microbubbles with attached antibiotics, resulting in the antibiotic being released and allowing it to treat the endothelial wall. This can help treat the current infection and also help prevent the storage of bacteria in the wall, which leads to recurrent infections. While significant preclinical work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of urinary tract infections include medication.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a more effective alternative to current treatment. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. Focused ultrasound also offers enhanced treatment for the target, with less impact to the rest of the patient.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of urinary tract infections.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for urinary tract infection is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Horsley H, Owen J, Browning R, Carugo D, Malone-Lee J, Stride E, Rohn JL. Ultrasound-activated microbubbles as a novel intracellular drugdelivery system for urinary tract infection. J Control Release. 2019 May 10;301:166-175. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.03.017. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Early Stage