Laser interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) is a relatively new focal therapy technique for the ablation of localized prostate cancer. In this study, for the first time, we are integrating ex vivo pathology and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the imaging characteristics of prostate cancer and treatment changes following LITT. Via a unique clinical trial, which gave us the availability of...

APTA is a sponsor of the Decade, an international, multidisciplinary initiative to improve health-related quality of life for people with musculoskeletal disorders. Background and Purpose. The purpose of this project was to create guidelines for electrotherapy and thermotherapy interventions in the management of adult patients ( 18 years of age) with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis accordin...

In this work the temperature dependence of the proton resonance frequency was assessed in agarose gel with a high melting temperature (95 degrees C) and in porcine liver in vitro at temperatures relevant to thermotherapy (25-80 degrees C). Furthermore, an optically tissue-like agarose gel phantom was developed and evaluated for use in MRI. The phantom was used to visualize temperature distribut...

Purpose: We wanted to compare the treatment outcome, safety, efficacy and complications of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), interstitial laser coagulation (ILC), transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) and transurethral ethanol ablation of the prostate (TEAP) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Materials and Methods: In this prospective, randomized study, a tota...

Epilepsy is a common, disabling illness that is refractory to medical treatment in approximately one-third of patients, particularly among those with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. While standard open mesial temporal resection is effective, achieving seizure freedom in most patients, efforts to develop safer, minimally invasive techniques have been underway for over half a century. Stereotactic...

Background: The most common type of primary brain tumors are gliomas. For patients unsuitable for open microsurgery having been treated by radiochemotherapy, laser irradiation has proven to be an alternative palliative option. From summer 1997 until winter 2006 we performed about 60 laser-interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) treatments, starting with patients with large recurrent tumors who had no...

PURPOSE We documented the results of high energy transurethral microwave thermotherapy in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated 116 patients following transurethral microwave thermotherapy according to symptom scores, transrectal ultrasound, free voiding and pressure-flow study parameters. RESULTS Significant improvement was noted in all objective...