TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Veterans General Hospital has introduced histotripsy, a non-invasive advanced ultrasound technology designed for treating tumors in difficult-to-access locations.

Hou Ming-chih (侯明志), deputy superintendent of the hospital, said the technology uses sound waves to create bubbles inside tumors that quickly expand and burst, destroying cancer cells without causing heat damage to surrounding tissue, per CNA.

Huang Yi-hsiang (黃怡翔), director of medical research at the hospital, said the technology has achieved tumor removal in more than 95% of cases. It is particularly effective for tumors located near blood vessels and bile ducts.

The hospital said it will offer the treatment free of charge this year to 50 people with liver cancer or cancer that has spread to the liver as part of a clinical trial. It also plans to expand the use of the technology to treat kidney, pancreatic, prostate, and breast cancers.

The Lin Hung Tai Charitable Trust donated ultrasound cancer-treatment equipment worth about NT$100 million (US$3.2 million) to the hospital on Monday. It will also work with the Lin Hung Tai Education Foundation to establish a regional demonstration center for the technology.

Huang noted liver cancer cases from hepatitis B and C in Taiwan have declined, while those linked to fatty liver disease are rising. He added that about half of the people with diabetes also have fatty liver disease, which can be improved through lifestyle changes.

Hospital director Chen Wei-ming (陳威明) said that more than one-third of the hospital’s inpatient cases are cancer-related. In response, the hospital established a Heavy Ion Therapy Center in 2023, which uses carbon-ion radiotherapy to treat cancers that have not yet spread.

The hospital has used the radiotherapy technology in about 730 cases, including more than 200 cases of pancreatic cancer, Chen said. He added many of these cancers are difficult to operate on, but the treatment can shrink tumors to make surgery possible.