Published on 28 September 2021
Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) is the first trust in the UK to use an innovative system to aid the diagnosis for patients with potential prostate cancer.
The state-of-the-art ExactVu ultrasound system is more likely to give a decisive result from the patient’s initial biopsy procedure, reducing the time taken to investigate and preventing them having to go through many further invasive procedures to reach a diagnosis.
This is because it provides high resolution, real-time imaging that enables more accurate targeting for biopsy of suspect areas of tissue within the prostate gland.
The new system uses an MRI image of the patient's prostate which shows the abnormal areas of tissue and this is combined with the live ultrasound image, enabling the operator to precisely focus and take the samples needed for examination.
Without the accuracy provided by this system up to 25% of biopsies can potentially miss suspicious areas.
The new technology also means fewer samples are needed from the patient to make a diagnosis.
The new system was funded by the Merseyside & West Cheshire Prostate Appeal. The appeal, to support minimally invasive treatments for prostate cancer, was set up by Mr Parr 14 years ago.
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