What if prostate cancer could be treated without a single incision, and patients could be home having dinner with their families the very same day?
In this episode, Tom Tamberrino, Chief Commercial Officer of Profound Medical, discusses how the company's MRI-guided TULSA-PRO technology is changing prostate treatment through incisionless, minimally invasive procedures. He explains how focused ultrasound, AI-assisted treatment planning, and real-time MRI guidance enable physicians to treat both prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia while allowing patients to return home the same day. Tom also explores how new Medicare reimbursement is making the technology financially viable for urology practices, potentially expanding access to MRI-guided care outside traditional hospital settings. He concludes by highlighting the importance of men's health advocacy and introducing LetsHuddle.org, a community designed to encourage open conversations about prostate health and mental well-being.
Tune in to learn how MRI-guided focused ultrasound, AI-assisted treatment planning, and a patient-first approach are redefining prostate care, and why the future of surgery may involve no scalpel at all.
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[00:00:03] Hello everyone, welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket podcast, reporting live here from SRS 2026. I'm excited to be with Tom Tamberrino today. He's the Chief Commercial Officer at Profound Medical. Tom, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me, privileged to be here. Yeah, such a pleasure. I had a chance to go into the grand ballroom where you guys have a beautiful booth. Yes. You guys are doing some incredible things. So to kick things off today, tell us a little bit about you and tell us about the company.
[00:00:31] Perfect. So I'll keep it short on myself because I definitely want to highlight the company, but I have a 47-year-old married man. I have three children, 16-year-old daughter, 14-year-old daughter, 11-year-old son. We have two Labrador retrievers. Life is beautiful. Shout out to the family. Absolutely. And that's what makes this all worthwhile, right? It does. It's about human connectivity and what we get to do, and I look forward to getting into it, is truly about saving lives and improving lives.
[00:00:55] So it's a privilege to be here to share what we're about to share, raise awareness around prostate disease in particular, and to advocate for men's health, not only physically, but also mental health. I love that, man. The sense of purpose is deep. I can feel that from you. Tell us a little bit about Profound Medical and what you guys are up to. Absolutely. So Profound Medical is a small cap company traded on NASDAQ. The ticker symbol is we were founded out of technology developed at Sunnybrook University Hospital 26 years ago now.
[00:01:24] So the technology itself is called Tulsa Pro, which stands for transurethral ultrasound ablation of the prostate. It is indicated in the United States for the treatment of prostate tissue, specifically ablating the prostate tissue, malignant or benign. Okay. So the bulk of the pen that we treat have either prostate cancer or benign prostate hyperplasia or a combination thereof. Okay.
[00:01:48] The reason that we are here today at the robotics surgery society meeting is that this is an autonomous robot, and we deliver treatment through the urethra, no incisions, no blood loss, no radiation, no overnight stay. The man is put on a general anesthesia. He receives his treatment. He's brought out of that anesthesia. He's having dinner with his family that night. Same day. Same day. Is it happening in the all year, both?
[00:02:14] Great question. All the above, right? So for all of us in the industry, we know HOPD, ASC, OBL, IDTF. So in the hospital setting, we're currently treating the MRI suites. Okay. And then outside the hospital setting, it depends, right? So some ambulatory surgical centers have an MR. Some office-based laboratories have an MR, but not a lot.
[00:02:33] And we do believe that with Tulsa Pro, we will unlock the ability, in particular for urologists, to have a business model that is economically feasible because of Tulsa Pro to purchase MRIs for their large urology group practice associations. Wow. Wow. What's the unlock there? So to me, it's pretty simple. Money. Right? So the reimbursement that Tulsa Pro has received here in the United States went into effect with Medicare January 1st of 2025.
[00:03:02] And the facility fee that's provided, whether it be in the HOPD, ASC, or OBL is substantial enough that there's economic viability to the program, not only feeding itself, but also allowing profit for further investment. So in terms of our discussions, we focus, obviously, clinical first, second, and third. It's all about the patient. But secondarily, in the world we live in, the cost of health care, the economic value proposition allows for the urology community,
[00:03:28] which to date has not been able to substantiate diagnostic scans to pay for them owning it. So there's enough facility fee associated with this, in addition to RVU, that all of a sudden it's a good investment for those sole proprietors and those large urology group practice associations to invest not only in Tulsa Pro, but the MRI that's eager to drive it. Wow. That's massive. And it's good to understand. I think so.
[00:03:52] Look, we have a very healthy working relationship with the original equipment manufacturers of MRIs, Siemens, Philips, and GE. I'm very excited about developing a relationship with Cook Medical. They've recently launched their own interventional MRI division that's led by Peter Polverini. And their belief, which is also ours, is that the new operating room is the MR suite. Just last night, I was able to have dinner with the founders of the Society of Incisionless Surgery.
[00:04:18] Dr. Mike McDonald from AdventHealth Celebration and his team are bringing together what I believe this society has become, and it will be in the next three to five years, which is in a world where there's not going to be incisions. And you're either going to be treating from the outside in, Star Trek style, if you will, or through endoluminal direction. There will not be incisions. And so their belief is just that. So they're developing a technology called Copernicus, and they're partnering with Siemens at this point in time.
[00:04:46] And so we've got loose relationships there where we're all converging on the same thing, which is, how do we treat patients the same day, send them home the same day, without incision, without blood loss? That's massive and super exciting. It's so exciting. And I got to tell you that the folks at Advent Health here in Florida see this. I give them all the credit in the world. They've already developed the Global Robotic Institute that they have at their Advent Health Celebration Campus.
[00:05:11] I can envision a world, my words not theirs, that they'll have a global Institute of Incisionless Surgery at their Advent Health Lake Notocampus, which is scheduled to open in December this year. And to my knowledge, they'll have one of the first incisionless surgery programs. Not heard of any others, to my knowledge, again, worldwide. I think it'll be the first, and it definitely will be the last. And with your procedure, it's incision-free as well. Absolutely. So basically, the man is brought to the MRI suite. He's placed under general anesthesia.
[00:05:41] The treating physician inserts an ultrasound applicator into the urethra. Okay. He places an endorectal cooling device into the rectum. And outside of those two manual processes, the rest of the procedure is completed behind a control room desk with a mouse. And so our AI will outline the prostate glands. The clinician, of course, can override in any way they see fit based on their clinical judgment. But again, we do outline them for that. Helps in the planning phase. And the AI will also assist in the treatment planning.
[00:06:11] After the treatment planning is done, the physician simply says, go. And then the Tulsa Pro robot takes over from there. And it starts to deliver directionally focused ultrasound out of 10 elements that are within the ultrasound applicator, sitting within the prostate itself. And depending on the size of the gland, and we can treat all size glands, small, medium, or large. Procedure in terms of ablation time can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, just depending on the size of the gland itself and the treatment area. Tom, this is fantastic.
[00:06:41] And this is one of the things that we're going to want to probably see. So I'm sure you and your team have links to stuff that we could share with our viewers and listeners. Absolutely. I'm going to name a few of that. So one of course is profoundmedical.com. Another is called letshuddle.org. And so Letshuddle.org is a patient advocacy community that we've created. It is not Tulsa Pro specific. Okay. But men, if I may be so bold, tend to hide. We tend not to share.
[00:07:09] So rather than going on walks and talks to talk about our PSA, to talk about when's the last time we got a colonoscopy, or talk about, hey, how's your mental health? Yeah. Right? We hide. But this group is for all men to come and speak with one another about. We have men who've been treated with Tulsa Pro. We have men who've just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We have men who are living with side effects from interventions they may have had. It's just a community to get together. And we want to make sure that grows globally. So profoundmedical.com and letshuddle.org. I love it.
[00:07:38] Just a fantastic work that you guys are doing for the community, both patient community, as well as surgeon community to take care of a big problem in an innovative way. Tom, thank you so much for doing this today and really excited to follow you guys and the progress you're making. The future is bright. Thank you so much. And for everybody out there listening, make sure you take a look at the show notes. That's where you'll find that organization that Tom mentioned to you,
[00:08:03] as well as Profound Medical, where you could figure out what's happening and the latest in this exciting space. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you all soon.