SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Manual Part Number
1.4.4. Water System
Exablate Prostate contains a water subsystem that incorporates a semi-closed water circulation loop,
designed to provide several requirements for prostate treatment:
◼ Filling, draining, circulating and degassing the water within the balloon during treatment
preparations.
◼ Circulating and degassing the water during treatment to keep water within the balloon cooled and
degassed.
◼ Support the cleaning and high-level disinfection procedure between treatments.
The water system is made of a primary circuit at the equipment room, including a cooling unit (see Figure
1-8), and a secondary water circuit assembled on the table (see Figure 1-9). The operator controls the water
subsystem using a control panel positioned on the patient table (see Figure 1-10) to manually operate filling
and draining of the balloon.
Two elements on the left side of the Exablate console (see Figure 1-11) indicate the operation status of the
water system: The Circulation Controller, that illuminates continuously when water is circulating, and the
Cooling Indicator, that illuminates continuously when water is cooled.
The circulation is automatically controlled by the system. Do not interact with the
circulation controller.
[N-1]
The endorectal probe includes tubing which connects it to the water subsystem. The tubing feed the water
into a disposable silicon balloon enclosing the transducer.
The balloon is made of a biomedical-grade silicone. The system circulates the water, monitors and controls
the water temperature and vacuum level, and warns the user in case of malfunction. The water system also
provides an acoustic transmitting media. The degassed water inside the balloon and gel smeared on the
balloon’s surface provide acoustic coupling during the treatment.
The Exablate Prostate water subsystem is designed to keep the rectal wall safe through cooling and
circulation.
At the beginning of the treatment, the system initiates an active cooling unit, which is intended to maintain
the water temperature around 14°C. During sonications, water is circulated at a rate of at least one liter/min
to minimize thermal accumulation around the probe. During the treatment, the Workstation controls water
system status automatically.
See Appendix B for water system use and maintenance.
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