Safety and treatment volumes achieved following new developments of the magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound system in the treatment of uterine fibroids: a cohort study

BACKGROUND This research investigates whether modifications to the magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound ablation of uterine fibroid (MRgFUS) system used resulted in improved treatment volumes of uterine fibroids, while maintaining safety. METHODS This study is a prospective cohort analysis of 34 women undergoing the ExAblate 2100 MRgFUS treatment for their uterine fibroids. RESULTS The percentage of non-perfused volume (NPV) achieved with the ExAblate 2100 system was 54.92% compared with 50.49 % with the ExAblate 2000 system over the preceding year (p = 0.543). The ExAblate 2100 system resulted in a greater NPV in hyper-intense fibroids compared with the ExAblate 200 system (43.20% versus 36.33%, p = 0.005). There have been no recorded hospital admissions, no skins burns, and no reported major adverse events since the introduction of this new system. CONCLUSION Overall, the new system has thus far shown an encouraging safety record and an improvement in non-perfused volumes achieved, especially in hyper-intense fibroids.