Medicine and healthcare are industries that are always subject to the ever-moving world of innovation. Being constantly subject to innovation means that these industries are often being introduced to new technologies and techniques, or processes and procedures. Today, we at Global Health and Pharma are highlighting the work of NINA Medical, which has earned 2021’s Award for Excellence in Non-Invasive Surgery Solutions. Join us as we profile what it offers and how it has earned this coveted award title.
Working towards next-generation medicine, NINA Medical is focusing on the vision of non-invasive surgery. The general idea is to replace the doctor’s scalpel with a beam of energy that penetrates the body of the patient, inducing a targeted modification to a target tissue, in order to achieve a specific medical outcome. Non-invasive surgery has been gaining popularity over the years, with many choosing this option over traditional surgery. NINA Medical develops a technology for high-energy ultrasound radiation capable of burning a selected point inside the body. The company is an innovator in this field and as such it was awarded the 2021 Award for Excellence in Non-Invasive Surgery Solutions by Global Health and Pharma Magazine. For the team at NINA Medical, everything comes back to the motto of Treatment Without Trauma. The team is passionate about non-invasive solutions that are at the cutting-edge of the medical technology.
Delivering this high-energy ultrasound radiation beam is right there, on the cutting-edge of what the medical industry is currently doing. For NINA Medical, the development works as follows: the ultrasound energy is focused so that the intensity reaches extremely high values in the focal point, inducing thermal effect in the focal point alone. Thus, selective ablation is caused to the target tissue, leaving surrounding tissue intact. The firm’s proprietary technology enables it to guide the treatment by means of diagnostic ultrasound, meaning that the user can actually visualize the focal point inside the body in real time. This enables the user to control the high energy beam and bring the focal point to the target tissue.
NINA Medical is gradually earning its reputation for being a pioneer in this emerging field of image guided high intensity focused ultrasound, otherwise known as HIFU. Being active in this field has allowed the company to introduce a set of patent-pending inventions that aim to boost-up the adoption of HIFU as an acceptable modality for non-invasive surgery. At present, although its product is still in the development phase, NINA Medical has a bright future ahead of it, especially in light of global trends inclining towards less invasive treatment solutions.
Primary beneficiaries from the work being carried out by NINA Medical include men at the third age who suffer from symptoms of the enlarged prostate, known also as the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Sometimes considered to be part of the normal aging process of men, the condition affects more than 50% of men above age 55. BPH is a progressive condition in which the prostate grows and gradually blocks the urethra, diminishing the flow of urine from the bladder. Symptoms include difficulties in urination, frequent and urgent need to urinate, nocturia, and they have a negative effect on quality of life. Existing treatment options include medications as a first line treatment and minimally invasive surgery as a second line treatment. In more severe situations, a surgery may be considered as well. Medications are very common, but they may have side effects, not always tolerable by the patient. Patients usually cease medications within several years, either because the unbearable side effects or due to degradation in pharmacological efficacy. At this stage, men start to google options for minimally invasive surgery. Existing solutions span from supportive stent to steam injection, and they are all trans-urethral, i.e., they use the urethra of the patient as a working channel for the insertion of medical instrumentation. Since most men are reluctant to accept trans-urethral procedure, the instinctive reaction will be to postpone the treatment. Alas, the chances for complications due to the untreated enlarged prostate grow with time. Complications may include recurring infections, permanent damage to the bladder and chronic kidney failure.
“The introduction of the first non-invasive solution for BPH will encourage men to get treatment earlier” says Shmuel Ben-ezra, CEO of NINA Medical. “With our Treatment Pillow, we will approach the prostate from the perineum, exploiting the acoustic window for ultrasound imaging and for focal therapy by HIFU thermal ablation”.
This technology has the potential to change the medical marketplace, with future applications for cancer treatments. NINA Medical’s diverse team of professionals plays a pivotal role in the firm’s success, and have done since day one. With a constant effort to strengthen its staff, patients can be sure that the company will continue to generate ideas and develop them into game-changing applications. Strength lies in scientific knowledge and insight, particularly on the Scientific Advisory Board of the firm. World-leading specialists in the field of urology such as Professor Mark Emberton from the University College of London are part of the Board, making it one of the best in the business. 2021 will undoubtedly be one of the biggest years for NINA Medical, as it is the year that the firm will be prepared for clinical trials, making full use of HIFU technology in a bid to help patients all over the world. Yet, for all the talk of future success, it is the here and now that the firm is celebrating. NINA Medical has come through a turbulent 2020, as have many other medical firms, but it has done so with a clear vision of where it is going next, and how it is going to continue to help people all over the world. NINA Medical is a truly outstanding firm, and deserves every success in its clinical trials and beyond.
For more information, please visit www.ninamed.com
