Robot for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Focal Prostate Laser Ablation¹

Approximately, 240,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually [1]. The majority of these cases represent low-risk, organ-confined disease for which targeted therapy has emerged as a treatment alternative that spares patients from undesired side effects such as impotence and incontinence [2]. Focal laser ablation (FLA) utilizes a diode laser catheter to generate a well-controlled ablation zone, causing rapid heating of targeted cancerous tissue, and leaving the majority of the surrounding gland intact. While FLA for localized prostate cancer is receiving increased attention due to its minimally invasive nature, the procedure has several technical limitations. Most notable are the difficulty of (1) effectively localizing the prostate tumor according to the treatment planning, (2) safely placing the laser catheter to ablate the entire tumor and achieve adequate margins, and (3) accurately monitoring the ablated area. Larger tumors require multiple catheter placements, which can be...