Insightec Announces 10,000 Patient Milestone
Insightec has announced that 10,000 patients across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region have now been treated with the company’s Exablate® Neuro platform for essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. The milestone caps a decade of growth for focused ultrasound in EMEA and reflects a rapid acceleration in adoption: the number of patients treated across the region has more than doubled over the past three years as more hospitals bring incisionless treatment to patients who once had no options beyond medication or invasive surgery.
MR-guided focused ultrasound is now available at more than 62 treatment centers across 20 countries in the EMEA region, with continued growth in both essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease indications. That growth is part of a larger global footprint of more than 30,000 patients treated at 226 centers worldwide.
“Ten thousand is a number, but behind every one of those treatments is a person who got their life back: a hand steady enough to hold a cup of coffee, or write a birthday card, or hug a grandchild without shaking,” said Jake Ghannam, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer at Insightec. “We’re proud of how far focused ultrasound has come in EMEA, and just as proud to see Parkinson’s disease patients now benefiting from the same incisionless approach that’s already changed thousands of lives with essential tremor. None of this happens without the clinical teams who believed in this therapy early and did the hard work of building it into their standard of care.”
Ghannam’s reflection on the technology’s growth is one measure of the milestone. For individual patients, the measure is much more personal.
In Spain, Juan José, a 56-year-old carpenter who has lived with essential tremor since childhood, is one of them. The condition runs in his family, passed down to his own son, and for years José grew so self-conscious about his tremor that he retreated to his home workshop rather than let others see his hands shake. He recently completed his second-side treatment, a few years after his first MRgFUS treatment for his dominant hand, and the results have brought him real relief.
“I didn’t want to go out with my partner because I felt like people were watching my every move when drinking a glass of water or picking up a fork. People notice all of that, so you avoid it.” José said. “In a way, I had completely lost confidence in my ability to live a normal life. Now I feel that I am in control of everything again. You realize it yourself and think My God, this, this is living! Now I understand what life is like for normal people.”
Watch José’s full story at https://youtu.be/p6NQwbMMydg.
That kind of outcome is what has drawn a growing number of physicians to the treatment over the past decade. But even as access has grown, the milestone also underscores how much work remains. Across the EMEA region, millions of people live with essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease, yet access to advanced treatment options remains uneven, and a patient’s ability to receive focused ultrasound can still depend significantly on where in they live. While patients in some countries benefit from established treatment pathways and broader reimbursement, others continue to face significant barriers to care.
“Ten thousand patients is a milestone worth celebrating, but it also reminds us how much more there is to do,” said Insightec Chairman and CEO Maurice Ferré, MD. “Where someone lives should not determine whether they can access an appropriate treatment option. Our ambition is to work alongside clinicians, patient organizations, healthcare systems and government bodies to help create broader and more equitable access to high-quality care throughout the world. Our next milestone isn’t simply about reaching a bigger number. It’s about seeing more patients treated every year, in more countries, with more equitable access to care.”
Insightec continues to work with health authorities, clinical societies and patient groups across the world to close that gap and to help establish sustainable treatment pathways in the countries where access still lags.
“Exablate,” and “Exablate Neuro,” as well as the “INSIGHTEC” logo, whether standing alone or in connection with the word “Insightec,” are protected trademarks of Insightec.
Source: Insightec