June 4, 2012, Updated August 27, 2014
IceCure CEO Hezi Himmelfarb
IceCure CEO Hezi Himmelfarb

The Israeli biomedical company IceCure has announced that it successfully removed breast cancer tumors from patients taking part in a clinical trial in Japan.

“The clinical trial destroyed small cancerous tumors by cryoablation, without the need for a surgical procedure. We believe that cryoablation, using the IceSense3, is an innovative approach best suited for treating small cancerous tumors in the breast,” said IceCure CEO Hezi Himmelfarb.

IceSense3 is an ultrasound-guided procedure that penetrates the tumor and then destroys it cryogenically – engulfing it with ice. No sutures are required and the entire process takes about 10 minutes.

The IceSense3 by IceCure is an Israeli invention for freezing and destroying benign breast tumors.
The IceSense3 by IceCure is an Israeli invention for freezing and destroying benign breast tumors.

And while cryoablation has been used to remove benign and malignant tumors of various kinds for years, Himmelfarb says IceCure’s device possesses advanced needle technology that doesn’t require reaching past the tumor as is the case in other devices.
The first four procedures were successfully carried out at the Kameda Medical Center in Kamogowa, Japan, which is fully financing the trial.

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