Noninvasive ExAblate® Treatment for Uterine Fibroids is Cost-Effective, New Study Says

2009 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- GE Healthcare and InSightec announced that new data show that the non-invasive ExAblate® 2000 Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system is more cost-effective than myomectomy or Uterine Artery Embollization (UAE). The study appears in the January 2009 issue (Vol. 25, Issue 1) of The International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care (see also GE Healthcare).

“This study shows that treating uterine fibroids with MRgFUS is a cost-effective option for payers” said David Lee Ph.D., Senior Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, GE Healthcare. “With any healthcare treatment, there is the direct cost of the procedure, but there’s also the indirect cost of lost productivity, all the more crucial in today’s economy.”
Study results show that ExAblate patients enjoy a greater number of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) than those who undergo a myomectomy or a hysterectomy (17.36 vs. 17.31 and 17.18, respectively). ExAblate lifetime treatment costs were less than a myomectomy or uterine artery embolization, but more than hysterectomy, the most invasive of all procedures. “Taken together, the ratio of benefits to costs for ExAblate was well within accepted standards for cost-effectiveness,” said Dr. Lee.

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