Cancer patients in Indiacan now heave a sigh of relief, thanks to the availability of the cryoablation technology in the country. Cryoablation is a minimally invasive image guided (ultrasound or CT scan) treatment, that uses extreme cold to freeze and accurately destroy diseased tissue within the tumour zone. This technology is the brainchild of an Israeli company, Ice CureMedical. Its flagship product,ProSense freezes tumours quickly and with minimal pain. It uses liquid nitrogen (LN2) for maximum freezing, safety, and efficacy. Novo Med Incorporation PvtLtd is the authorized distributor of IceCure Medical in India.
During cryoablation, a thin, needle-like probe called a cryoprobe is inserted into the target area. The cryoprobe uses liquid nitrogen as a coolant, which rapidly cools the surrounding tissue. As the tissue freezes, ice crystals form, causing cellular damage and destruction. The extreme cold temperatures essentially freeze and kill the abnormal cells.
Cryoablation has several advantages over other treatment methods. It is considered a minimally invasive procedure, meaning it requires only a small incision or needle puncture, resulting in less trauma to the body and faster recovery times compared to open surgery. It can be performed under local anaesthesia, eliminating the need for general anaesthesia in many cases. Additionally, cryoablation is relatively precise, allowing for targeted treatment of the abnormal tissue while preserving surrounding healthy tissue.Hospital stay is not required in most cases.
The specific application of cryoablation depends on the condition being treated. It is commonly used in the treatment of benign and malignant tumours of various kinds including breast cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, bone, soft tissue, and other types of tumours.
Dr. Shuvro RoyChoudhury, Director of Interventional Services at the Narayana Hrudyalaya Group of Hospitals, opined, “We use a wide variety of heat-based ablation devices to treat small tumours or kill unwanted tissues, wherein, energies like radio frequency, microwave or laser are used to accurately kill without debilitating surgery. Cryoablation on the other hand uses very cold temperatures or an iceball to kill these unwanted tissues. I have been using cryoablation abroad for a little while now but in India we got this system in place for the last year and a half. This stunning technology has already been used in our centre to treat tumours of the kidney, chest wall, breast and soft tissues with great results. The main advantage of cryoablation over existing techniques are that it is even less painful, more predictable and minimally invasive. In addition to kidney and liver, we are anticipating more widespread use of this technology in soft tissue tumours and benign breast fibroadenoma.”
The cryoablation therapy was also recently introduced at the Kovai MedicalCenter in Coimbatore. Jay Mehta, Director–Sales, Novo Med Incorporation Pvt Ltd, stated, “We are indeed very happy to facilitate the availability of this futuristic and revolutionary technology in India. The Indian populace should take maximum advantage of the same and freeze cancer in its tracks.”
