The first patient of a new treatment currently under trial was treated in London in July. This new prostate cancer treatment refines the way that the HIFU is delivered. Until now, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound has been used for whole gland ablation. Researchers at UCLH believe that it may be possible to just target specific areas within the prostate which are indicated to be affected by cancer.

This patient was shown to have two separate tumour sites. The precision high intensity ultrasound beam was specifically targeted onto these areas using a focus size which approximates the volume of a single grain of rice. The patient Jack Avery, 57 of Wymondham in Norfolk said "This is excellent news for thousands of men out there. One man an hour dies in this country from prostate cancer, more awareness is needed and more information about the sophisticated treatment that is available in HIFU"