Arrayus Technologies Awarded Funding to Advance Focused Ultrasound Therapy through AI

TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - Arrayus Technologies Inc., an innovator in focused ultrasound therapy for oncology, announced today it has been awarded funding of up to $1.9 million from INOVAIT and the Government of Canada through the INOVAIT Focus Fund to develop and integrate machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities into its therapy platform.

Arrayus, a clinical-stage medical technology company, has developed a versatile focused ultrasound device that uses the energy of targeted ultrasound waves to destroy tissue and produce other biological effects deep in the body without making any incisions. The company is pursuing the non-invasive surgical treatment of uterine fibroids, a benign uterine tumor, as its first clinical indication. Future indications include treatment of pancreas, liver and kidney cancers. 

Built using a novel ultrasound array design, Arrayus' focused ultrasound therapy platform is the field's most technologically advanced. In contrast to existing systems which treat point by point, Arrayus' device is the only system that provides physicians with temporal and spatial control of the complete treatment field using 6144 individually controlled ultrasound transducer elements. The company believes this will offer both patients and providers significant advantages, including faster, safer treatments and expanded patient eligibility.

With the funding contribution from the INOVAIT focus fund, and in collaboration with Sunnybrook Research Institute and Vancouver Coastal Health, Arrayus will use machine learning and automation tools to develop AI-enhanced treatment planning and control algorithms for focused ultrasound therapy. The resulting innovations will be incorporated into the company's flagship product where they are expected to improve patient experience, shorten physician training time and learning curve, and decrease procedure times by up to 75% compared to existing commercial systems.

"Focused ultrasound therapy has the ability to radically improve the way cancer is treated", said James O'Reilly, Arrayus' chief executive officer. "This investment will enable us to integrate cutting-edge machine learning tools to unlock the full potential of this technology and help position Arrayus as a global leader in this rapidly growing field".

The Arrayus Technologies' MR-guided focused ultrasound platform is not commercially available and is currently limited to investigational use in approved clinical studies.

About Arrayus Technologies

• Arrayus Technologies Inc., is a privately-held medical device company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing focused ultrasound technology for treatment of a broad range of oncological indications. Incorporating two decades of innovations by leaders in the field, the company's proprietary focused ultrasound technology combines a unique flat phased array design with advanced imaging and therapy monitoring for unprecedented treatment control and flexibility. This disruptive non-invasive technology can be used as an alternative or complement to traditional surgery, radiation therapy or immunotherapy. Arrayus has offices in Burlington, Canada and Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit www.arrayus.ca

About INOVAIT

• Established in 2020, INOVAIT invests strategically in collaborative partnerships that build upon Canada's strength in digital innovation and health science research to create a critical mass of world leading Image-Guided Therapy (IGT) companies. Led by the Sunnybrook Research Institute and supported by the Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund, the network brings together small, medium-sized, and large companies, research organizations, post-secondary institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. Its objective is to build a truly integrated IGT ecosystem by fuelling continuous innovation that revolutionizes healthcare globally.

About Sunnybrook Research Institute

• Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) is the research arm of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, an internationally recognized academic health sciences centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. With well-established programs in basic and applied sciences which span across three scientific platforms and ten clinical programs, SRI is developing innovations in care for the more than 1.3 million patients the hospital cares for annually. Recognized as a Centre of Excellence in focused ultrasound, SRI has one of the most comprehensive and successful focused ultrasound research programs in the world, with technical, scientific and clinical experts accelerating progress in the field.

SOURCE Arrayus Technologies Inc.