Parents of children with food allergies frequently fear that accidental skin contact with allergenic foods may trigger a severe systemic allergic reaction. Findings from a recent Israeli study offer reassuring, evidence-based guidance that could help ease unnecessary anxiety.
“Benign enlargement of the prostate—benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH—is a common and often distressing condition that can cause severe urinary symptoms, including difficulty urinating, urgency, and loss of bladder control,” explains Dr. Alexander Kravtsov, a senior physician in Rambam’s Department of Urology. The condition is particularly common in men over 50, and its symptoms may affect quality of life, disrupt daily activities, and interrupt sleep.
Dr. Kravtsov explains that patients may delay treatment despite significant symptoms, not only because of embarrassment and psychological barriers, but primarily because they fear the available treatment options.
Current treatment options fall into two categories: medication and surgery. While medications can relieve symptoms, they do not work for everyone, and some patients experience little or no improvement. When drug therapy fails, physicians often recommend surgery. These procedures, performed through the urethra or rectum, require hospitalization and anesthesia and may involve bleeding, the use of a catheter, and a risk of impaired sexual function.
Developed through a collaboration between the Urology Department and Israeli startup Nina Medical, the FUS technology is now being tested for the first time at Rambam. The evaluation is being conducted within the Department headed by Professor Gilad Amiel, to assess the technology as a potential non-invasive alternative to traditional transrectal or transurethral procedures that may discourage patients from seeking treatment. The device is positioned against the skin of the perineum, enabling both real-time imaging and treatment without entering the body.
Real-time image output during the procedure.
Photography: Rambam HCC.
The procedure takes 10 to 30 minutes, requires neither anesthesia nor hospitalization, and represents a major conceptual and technological advance. The system uses FUS to perform controlled ablation of enlarged prostate tissue, with the aim of reducing prostate size and improving urine flow.
Shmuel Ben-Ezra, Co-Founder and CEO of Nina Medical, says the technology holds promise for millions of men who have no effective treatment option or who have avoided treatment because of fear or embarrassment. He believes it has the potential to become the gold standard for treating benign prostate enlargement throughout the Western world and could encourage many more men to seek treatment without hesitation.
The goal is eventually to offer the non-invasive procedure in a physician’s clinic, without surgical incisions or the need for hospitalization. “This new approach could allow patients to simply sit in a treatment chair, undergo a straightforward procedure, and continue with their normal daily routine with minimal disruption,” adds Dr. Kravtsov. “It represents a true revolution in men’s health.”
