Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s cancer team in Minneapolis is now using focused sound waves to attack liver tumors without a single incision. The noninvasive ultrasound technique, called histotripsy, relies on brief high-pressure pulses that create microscopic bubbles, which then collapse and mechanically break apart tumor tissue so the body can clear the debris. Many patients go home the same day, and a June 19, 2026 local TV segment recently put a fresh spotlight on the Twin Cities program.
Local rollout and who performed the first case
Allina Health reports that it is the first health system in the Twin Cities to perform histotripsy, with interventional radiologist Thomas Gebhard completing the program’s initial case in late 2025. According to Allina Health, most procedures take about 1 to 2 hours, and patients typically return home later the same day rather than staying overnight.
How the sound-wave treatment works
Rather than burning or freezing tissue, histotripsy uses tightly controlled ultrasound pulses to trigger acoustic cavitation: tiny bubbles that form and then violently collapse, shredding the targeted tissue into fragments. The underlying science is outlined by Johns Hopkins Medicine, while the Edison System used at some centers received U.S. marketing authorization after clinical review, according to HistoSonics.
Who’s a candidate and what to expect
Allina and other institutions say histotripsy is an option for patients with primary liver cancers or metastatic liver tumors who are not candidates for surgery or thermal ablation, and it can be combined with treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. “Histotripsy allows us to destroy cancerous tissue without damaging critical adjacent structures,” Dr. Thomas Gebhard said, according to Allina Health.
Early results and what the evidence shows
Regulatory filings and small early studies have reported encouraging short-term tumor control, although most datasets are still modest and follow-up is limited. The FDA’s 510(k) summary for the Edison system includes trial data from several dozen patients, and a recent peer-reviewed single-institution analysis found technical success and acceptable short-term safety while emphasizing the need for longer-term outcome data.
Safety and unanswered questions
Clinicians and commentators say the early numbers are encouraging but warn that big unanswered questions remain, particularly around long-term survival and rare complications. A recent commentary called for rigorous, evidence-based adoption and standardized reporting as histotripsy rolls out to more centers, according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
With the Allina rollout, histotripsy joins a growing list of noninvasive options at U.S. hospitals and gives Twin Cities patients one more approach to discuss with their oncology teams. For local coverage, see FOX 9; patients who want to know whether histotripsy might be appropriate for them can contact the Allina Health Cancer Institute for a consultation.
