UK Clinical Availability

Focused ultrasound is available on the NHS, at specialist centres, for the treatment of prostate cancer, uterine fibroids, essential tremor and liver cancer. It is also available privately for prostate cancer and essential tremor, as well as Parkinson’s related tremor and varicose veins.  

Some key information around the main indications is included below, including centres currently offering this treatment, though this is subject to change. Any discussion around appropriate treatment options should be discussed with your doctor in the first instance.  

There are also a wide range of diseases that are not yet clinically available for patients but are being investigated in trials. More detail can be found here. 

Quick Links

See treatment sites for:

• Prostate cancer
• Uterine fibroids
• Essential tremor
• Liver cancer
• Parkinson’s disease
• Varicose veins

Prostate Cancer

Every year, 56,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in England, and evidence shows that prostate cancer kills 12,000 men in the UK every year. Effective treatments are available, including both surgery and radiotherapy, but they can result in significant side effects, including incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Focused ultrasound offers a non-invasive alternative for localised prostate cancer and is associated with fewer side effects.  

A multi-centre clinical trial is currently underway in the UK to directly compare radical therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) with partial ablation (focused ultrasound or irreversible electroporation). The study will compare efficacy, as well as impact on side effects and quality of life.  

Further details can be found here: https://part-trial.octru.ox.ac.uk/ 

Centres currently offering focused ultrasound treatment for prostate cancer include: 

NHS

• University College London
• Charing Cross, Imperial College London
• Hampshire
• University Hospitals Sussex
• Southampton
• Royal United Hospitals, Bath
• Northampton General Hospital

Private*

• Princess Grace Private Clinic, London
• King Edward Private Clinic, London
• The Cromwell Private Clinic, London
• Ramsey Rivers Hospital, Sawbridgeworth, Essex
• Mount Alvenia Hospital, Guildford, Surrey
• Spire Hospital, Southampton
• Princess Margaret Hospital, Windsor, Berkshire
• Spire Hospital, Bristol
• Manor Private Hospital, Oxford
• The Priority Hospital, Birmingham
• The Winterbourne Hospital, Dorchester
• Beacon Hospital, Dublin

*Please check with your private provider as this list is subject to change

Uterine Fibroids

According to the NHS, around two-thirds of women will develop at least one uterine fibroid in their lifetime. A third of those will experience symptoms such as heavy periods or pain in the abdomen and back. They can also lead to complications with pregnancy or fertility. Women, including those of child-bearing age, may be offered a hysterectomy when an alternative non-invasive option exists that could preserve fertility.  

Focused ultrasound treatment for uterine fibroids is currently only available at: 

NHS

• Oxford University Hospitals

Find out more here. 

Essential Tremor

There are over 1 million people in the UK with essential tremor – and around 5% of over 65s are affected by the condition. It is one of the most common adult movement disorders, distinct from Parkinson’s disease, although it may look similar. There have now been hundreds of patients treated with focused ultrasound for essential tremor in the UK, providing evidence of its effectiveness and safety as a non-invasive treatment option.  

Focused ultrasound (guided by magnetic resonance or MR) is only currently available on the NHS at three centres in the UK: 

NHS

• St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London 
• The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool 
• Ninewells Hospital, Dundee

Private

Queen Square Imaging Centre (part of University College London Hospitals)

Liver Cancer

Every year in the UK, around 6,200 people die from liver cancer.  

Alongside primary liver cancers (cancer which starts in the liver), the liver is a key site for metastatic tumours, where cancer has spread from another organ that is affected by cancer) because of its rich blood supply.  

Treatment for liver cancer with a type of focused ultrasound known as histotripsy is available at one centre in the UK for a limited number of patients: 

• Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge

Find out more here. 

Parkinson’s Disease

Around 166,000 people live with Parkinson’s in the UK. Parkinson’s is on the rise. In the UK today, someone is diagnosed every 20 minutes. Tremor is a common symptom of Parkinson’s, although not everyone with the condition has a tremor. 

Focused ultrasound treatment is available in the UK to treat tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease. However, unless part of clinical research, this treatment is not currently funded by the NHS and can only be accessed privately at the following centre.

• Queen Square Imaging Centre

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins under the skin, usually on the legs.

Focused ultrasound treatment for varicose veins can be accessed in the UK through the following private provider.

• The Whiteley Clinic

Interested in Other Diseases?

For a full list of centres offering focused ultrasound on a clinical or research basis visit our US Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s website.