Focus Surgery Inc. develops and commercializes products using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Press Release

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Focus Surgery, Inc. (FSI), a pioneer in the development and commercialization of products using high intensity focused ultrasound, is pleased to announce its partnership with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, one of America's top-ranked colleges for undergraduate engineering education.

FSI is working with seniors from Rose-Hulman's Department of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering (ABBE) on their fifth-annual senior design project. Students investigate a problem within a company and subsequently design, develop and test a prototype to solve the problem.

The objective of FSI's project is to create a system for treating dermatological conditions, such as warts, with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

This marks the first year that two teams from Rose-Hulman's ABBE department will be working on a project from the same company. Each team is responsible for working in parallel on different parts of the device. The self-titled teams-Transduction and Star Mammoth-each have a $1,000 budget.

"Out of 43 students in the class, more than half of them selected FSI's project as their first or second choice," said Renee Rogge, assistant professor of applied biology and biomedical engineering at Rose-Hulman. "These students were eager to work on FSI's project because they could see an immediate application and because of the novel technology, but I'd be remiss if I left out the inherent 'cool' factor. We were so pleased that Focus agreed to take on two teams."

Students are currently in the needs assessment phase of the two projects. This phase includes research in HIFU technology as well as existing treatments currently in the marketplace. At the conclusion of this phase, students present five ideas to all project participants and subsequently select three to present to FSI, which then works with students to select the prototype they will develop.

"Although the teams have different objectives and subsystems, it is imperative that they remain aware of what the other team is doing in order to eventually mesh the two pieces together," said Kurt Hampton, product development engineer with FSI. "While the students are applying their engineering talents and resources toward the ultimate goal of creating a successful prototype they are gaining the experience of working with clients in the 'real world' and learning the intricate process of design, especially in a medical setting."

The teams will present the final design in April at the ABBE Senior Design Symposium, while simultaneously mentoring junior-year applied biology and biomedical engineering students prior to beginning their own projects for the 2010-11 school year.

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About Focus Surgery, Inc.
Focus Surgery, Inc. is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of products using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). FSI is an affiliate of US HIFU, based in Charlotte, N.C., whose mission is to treat primary and recurrent prostate cancer using HIFU in an effort to significantly improve patients' quality of life.

About Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a 1,900-student private college located in Terre Haute, Ind., that specializes in undergraduate engineering, science and mathematics education. U.S. News & World Report's annual college guidebook has ranked Rose-Hulman the number one college or university that offers the bachelor's or master's degree as its top degree in engineering.

Source: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology