New Leading Prostate Cancer Technology

Rochester Regional Health's Urology department becomes the only team in the region to offer Focal One HIFU. Focal One HIFU provides prostate cancer patients at Rochester General Hospital (RGH) with a treatment strategy that includes the quickest recovery times, precision treatment of the diagnosed tumor, and preservation of quality of life.

About Focal One HIFU

Focal One HIFU allows doctors to deliver a non-invasive precision therapy to the prostate without removing it, and it reduces the likelihood of common side effects often associated with radical surgery and radiation therapy, including urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Focal One is the latest generation of high intensity focused ultrasound device for the treatment of localized prostate cancer at RGH. As well as RGH being the first in the region to use Focal One HIFU, it's also only the fifth in the nation. The new iteration improves upon the first generation HIFU system the hospital has been using since 2017.

“Having used the first generation Ablatherm HIFU device with my prostate cancer patients for the past two years, I have seen first-hand the effectiveness of HIFU in treating diseased prostate tissue while leaving the organ largely intact,” said John Valvo, MD, executive director of the Polisseni Center for Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery.

Benefits of Focal One HIFU:

Approximately 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Focal One HIFU aims to provide better outcomes for prostate cancer patients in the future by offering:

• A less invasive approach
• No bleeding
• Rapid recovery
• Less risk of erectile dysfunction and bladder issues as opposed to other interventions
• Fewer side effects than chemotherapy and radiation
• No needles like cryotherapy or radiotherapy ablation
• Outpatient procedure