Quality Ablation at 64 degrees north

The collaboration The team completed their first case  in under 1 hour, with excellent results (AI-driven AblaSure showed 97% margin coverage). The majority of their patients will now be done with the aid of CAS-One IR, and more liver and kidney patients will be able to be treated as well. Thanks to Oskar Hemmingsson, Bengt Lind, Emma Lundmark, Hanna Nystrom, Ann-Catrine Strandén, Anna Molin, and many others from radiology and anaesthesia who have invested time and effort to kick off this project.

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The hospital did an interview and published an article in their regions intranet:

The X-ray department at Norrland University Hospital now has a new way of working which means a smaller intervention, shorter treatment times and increased opportunities for cancer patients.

We meet Bengt Lind, senior physician at the X-ray department at Imaging and Functional Medicine in Umeå, who tells us about the CT-guided ablations. It is a medical technique used to treat tumors and other pathological changes in the body. The first patient was received in mid-November and the method brings benefits to both patients and staff.

Ablation involves using ultrasound or computed tomography to insert a needle into a tumor and burn the tumor to pieces. The ablation can be performed with different energy sources, such as radiofrequency, microwaves, laser or cryotherapy, to destroy the diseased tissue.

Smooth and efficient

"We are already seeing many advantages. The benefit for patients is that you don't have to open and operate, it doesn't hurt, you just need to be put to sleep and get a good treatment and the risk of complications is lower. The treatment time is shorter than with, for example, surgery, sometimes the patient can even go home the same day" says Bengt Lind, senior physician, who has worked with ablations and cancer patients for a long time.

The fact that Region Västerbotten has a shortage of hospital beds is nothing new, and working methods that can reduce the care hours are positive and increase quality for the patient as well. Together with Kirurgcentrum in Umeå, the X-ray department has purchased the new machine CAS-One IR.

"In the new care programs for liver cancer and metastases recommend this approach and internationally there has recently been a large increase in ablations. They do not replace surgery, but the choice of method depends on the number and size of the tumor or metastasis" says Bengt Lind.

The largest patient group for ablations are those with liver cancer and those with colorectal cancer with metastases, but the method can also be used on small lung tumors, and tumors in the kidney.

"It is possible to develop in many ways and do more and more advanced things. We are at the start now, in the long run we will be able to treat metastases so small that they are not even visible, but we know they are there, as chemotherapy have reduced their size. This improves cancer care in Västerbotten and offers smoother and more efficient care" says Bengt Lind.

We are excited to have a 4th hospital in Sweden adopting Quality Ablation - and still look forward to even more progress in the future