MnRI Colloquium: Joshua Stopek
Image-guided Histotripsy, a novel non-invasive platform for future procedure automation
Abstract:
Histotripsy uses very high amplitude and short pulses (microseconds) of focused ultrasound to induce and control acoustic cavitation in the form of a histotripsy “bubble cloud.” The negative pressure, which can exceed -25MPa in the focal zone, allows the rapid formation and collapse of nano and microbubbles (within the bubble cloud) derived from endogenous gases naturally present in the targeted tissue. As the bubbles within the cloud form and collapse in microseconds, creating mechanical forces strong enough to destroy tissue at cellular and sub-cellular levels without the need for ionizing or thermal energy. An image-guided robotic platform is used to deliver the therapy. HistoSonics is currently focused on developing the broad platform capability to non-invasively treat across the body, initially focused on significant unmet needs in the abdominal and liver. The company is also researching and developing novel image-guided techniques to allow further procedure simulation, planning, and automation over setup and therapy delivery. This talk will focus on recent research in these areas.
Bio:
Dr. Josh Stopek has 20+ years of R&D leadership experience, including a background in developing minimally invasive image-guided technologies, new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic platforms, biomaterial/biosurgery, and combination devices to market. He is currently the Vice President of R&D for HistoSonics, focused on new breakthrough oncology solutions. He formerly led R&D in various business areas at Medtronic, Covidien, and US Surgical. Before that, he was the co-founder and VP of a startup medical device company, VMSI, working on new minimally invasive and tissue regeneration therapies. Dr. Stopek has over 200 issued and pending patents. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida, where he also completed a fellowship in Neurosurgery and Neuroscience.
