Aaron Fenster

Upon the successful completion of our research, ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy will be less operator-dependent, more reproducible, have improved positive yield on the first biopsy, and improved planning and guidance on repeat biopsy. This would represent a major improvement over current practice. In addition, the tools developed here could also be adapted to 3D US-guided biopsy of other organs such as the liver and breast. Based on our earlier experience with 3D ultrasound-guided prostate cryosurgery and brachytherapy, these innovations could be used routinely clinically within about 2 years after completion of the prototype development.

Better ways to identify patients with increased risk for stroke, and better ways to treat and monitor these patients will have an enormous impact. We are developing 3D carotid ultrasound imaging that can provide cost-effective, sensitive and specific atherosclerosis measurement tools, which are critically needed to define novel risk factors that aggravate atherosclerosis, and to assess efficacy and safety of therapies for carotid atherosclerosis.

Our goal is to make 3D carotid ultrasound a routine and reproducible tool for physicians monitoring their patients for carotid plaque progression/regression in response to therapy, and for quantifying changes in carotid atherosclerosis in clinical trials. Our tools will be used: i) to help identify the important factors that will distinguish patients who have vulnerable plaques; ii) to provide a cost-effective and sensitive method to assess carotid plaque progression and regression; iii) to provide useful information of the response of plaques to plaque stabilization therapies, and iv) to provide validated and reproducible biologic endpoints for therapeutic trials that could significantly reduce the sample sizes required to achieve statistical significance.

Advances in imaging with the potential to identify all prostate lesions, and improvements in biopsy techniques, have allowed physicians to consider the option of a properly executed focal ablative prostate cancer therapy on rigorously selected patients.  This therapy approach could provide definitive management with minimal treatment-related morbidity.

Our research promises to provide an accurate 3D ultrasound and MRI-guided focal prostate therapy system with  improved planning and guidance, and allow patients with enlarged prostates to be treated. This would represent a major improvement over current practice as the improved targeting and needle guidance with combined 3D TRUS and MR images would allow accurate and precise cancer foci to be targeted.  Thus, technology would provide a viable option for patients who are candidates for focal prostate cancer ablation with its reduced treatment morbidity.