A SAFER SOLUTION-Israeli Startup CAPS Medical Develops Technology to Target Solid Internal Tumors

Or Yehuda based startup medical company CAPS Medical develops a process for treating solid tumors inside of the body; The process they’re using is historically used on surface tumors outside of the body; The device CAPS has engineered allows for an internal tumor to be treated without damaging the internal organ(s).

A 2018 Israeli startup medical company has developed a process for more efficiently and safely treating tumors that are located on or near vital organs inside of the human body. The process that is being used by CAPS Medical is typically used to treat tumors located on the outside of the body via cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) but the alterations they’ve made to the process now allow for them to safely work inside of the body using a significantly smaller device. CAPS Medical claims two distinguishing benefits: 1) Deliver minimally invasive selective cancer treatment 2) Enable fine-tuning of the delivered energy dose.

Their website reads:
CAPS Medical is a medical device company focused on development and commercialization of a minimally invasive and selective cancer treatment using Cold Atmospheric Plasma, applicable for a wide range of solid tumors.
In an interview with Ilanit Chernick of The Jerusalem Post,CEO Ilan Uchitel explained what distinguished their smaller device stating that it’s “the first to enable CAP treatment in minimally invasive procedures using small-diameter disposable catheters, on internal solid tumor types.” Explaining the need to understand the foundation for their process, he added, “Cold Atmospheric Plasma involves the application of a stream of high-energy ionized gas aimed at tumors. CAP is administered at near-room temperature, which means it doesn’t cause thermal damage to tissue.”, stressing that CAP treatment is able to attack the cancer cells without opening the door for high risk to organs in the area.

Emphasizing the need for a process that allows for work to be done inside the body while keeping the patient safe, he stated, “Right now, the holy grail of cancer therapy has been finding a way to maximize damage to the cancer tumor while minimizing damage to the healthy tissue surrounding it. This goal has been elusive – yet so important – when treating vital organs deep inside the body.” The minimalist piece of equipment they’re using at CAPS Medical is helping to make this possible.

The device they use is a small tube-like object that releases cold atmospheric plasma out of the tip in a very thin but strong stream, allowing it to go through the surface and hit its exact target. But why the CAP process? What does it have to offer? Uchitel explained that CAP is able to directly target cancer cells which then activates the body’s immune system to attack other cancer cells in the same area. After targeting the cancerous cells with their precise tool, they then let the body’s immune system engage the cancerous cells on its own.

Clinical trials for CAPS Medical are likely to begin in 2021, and they hope to commercialize the treatment by the end of 2022. For the year 2020, the focus is to develop a clinical strategy and improve their device even more.