USHIFU

Lou

US HIFU, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is the exclusive distributor of the Sonablate® 500 in the Americas and South Africa and the funding source for Phase II-III U.S. clinical trials of the device. These clinical trials will be conducted to measure the efficacy and safety of HIFU with the Sonablate 500 for prostate disease. The device was developed by Focus Surgery Inc. of Indianapolis and is manufactured by Misonix Inc. (NASDAQ: MSON) of Farmingdale, N.Y. Misonix holds a minority equity position in Focus Surgery and exclusive distribution rights in Europe. Takai Hospital Supply Ltd. (THS) of Tokyo also holds a minority equity position in Focus Surgery and is the exclusive distributor in Asia. US HIFU is now enrolling various hospitals for Phase II-III trials.

Click on the names below for further information.
Click here for printable version

Stephen R. Puckett Chairman

Mr. Puckett serves as Chairman of Hospital Partners of America (HPA), a privately held company that owns and operates general acute care hospitals. HPA was recently named by Inc. Magazine as the third fastest growing private company in the United States. Mr. Puckett founded MedCath Incorporated, a company that owns and operates specialty heart hospitals throughout the U.S, and served as its Chairman and CEO from 1988­2000. Mr. Puckett is the Chairman of the Board of Bariatric Partners a company that focuses on bariatric surgery provided in ambulatory surgery centers. He is on the Board of Partners Imaging, a company that partners with cardiologists to provide 64-slice CT imaging services to cardiology practices throughout the United States. He also serves as Chairman of LV Realty, a realty development company that develops planned communities in the Southeastern U.S. Early in his career, Mr. Puckett held senior management positions at the University of Alabama Hospital and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority in Charlotte, North Carolina.

George M. Suarez, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P. Medical Director

George M. Suarez, M.D., is a board certified urologist currently based in Miami, Florida. He is a practicing physician and surgeon who is also highly active in clinical research and development, lecturing, consulting and volunteering.

Dr. Suarez has authored numerous chapters, articles and textbooks on prostate disease, incontinence and impotence. A modern pioneer within his areas of specialty, he has been involved in the development of several procedures including high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). He was originally trained in the procedure at the University of Indiana, where Phase I clinical trials took place.

To help further his mission of curing prostate disease and eliminating its effects, Dr. Suarez founded Prostate Health Care (www.prostatehealthcare.org), a non-profit organization that seeks to promote public awareness of the latest scientific research and available treatment options. He also founded the non-profit International HIFU Society to help advance clinical trials in HIFU, train urologists in the procedure and educate the public.

Dr. Suarez is a former faculty member of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed his urology residency and fellowship at Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans and his general surgery training at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Dr. Suarez has received numerous awards for his work, including the American Urological Association’s prestigious Montague Boyd Award for excellence in research and the T. Leon Howard Award. He is an active member of many medical and urology societies including the Societe Internationale D’Urologie, the European Association of Urology, the International Continence Society, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He is a diplomat of the American College of Surgeons and of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Stephen R. Puckett, Jr. Chief Executive Officer Stephen R. Puckett, Jr. is currently chief executive officer of USHIFU, LLC a company he helped found in 2004. He also aided in the founding of Hospital Partners of America a company that owns and operates general acute care hospitals in the United States. He served as marketing and physician relations manager at Austin Surgical Hospital where he was responsible for physician investment syndication that was comprised of neurosurgeons, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and pain management/anesthesiologists. He received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University.