Swift

OPERATING PRINCIPLE & TECHNOLOGY

HIGHLY CONTROLLED MICROWAVE ENERGY IN SPLIT SECONDS

HPV skin infections are widespread within the global population. It is estimated that about 7–12% of the population are affected by warts. In school-aged children, the prevalence is 10–20 %. An increased rate is also observed in immunosuppressed individuals.

HPV can suppress the immune response by producing a protein to reduce antigen presentation and thus natural immunity.

Infected tissue can lie several millimetres below the surface and is often difficult to treat with conventional methods, resulting in either untreated tissue, lateral spread or significant damage.

Swift delivers a precise, highly controlled dose of microwave energy into the skin at a pre-determined depth. It penetrates the hyperkeratosis without scattering or energy loss and causes split-second dielectric heating through precise, highly controlled energy delivery up to a maximum depth of 3.2 mm. Because the microwaves penetrate to a predetermined depth, they do not break through the surface of the skin and do not destroy the tissue at the point of application, as is usually the case with cryotherapy, salicylic acid or laser ablation.

Swift eliminates infected cells by heating the infected tissue several millimetres below the skin surface. The microwave energy causes a targeted collision of water molecules within the pre-defined field to create a hyperthermic region of 43–46 degrees Celsius. Swift thus makes the infected tissue visible to the Langerhans cells that recognise the HPV, thus activating the T-cells and the immune system to eliminate the infected cells.

The treatment takes seconds with little pain and a success rate of 80–100% compared to previous methods. Moreover, it offers predictable results and the potential for much shorter treatment times. Treatments are scheduled 1 to 3 times a month with a treatment duration of 1 to 15 minutes; treatment delivery is very easy and delegable.

Swift thus eliminates infected cells by selectively heating tissues and modulating several immune processes through split-second dielectric heating.

Studies have shown that exposure to higher than body temperatures can result in high cure rates of HPV lesions (53% vs. 11%) (Huo et al., 2010). HPV-infected cells are forced to activate the P13K pathway during HPV infection, which decreases Langerhans cell activity and therefore suppresses immunity to HPV (Fauch, 2005). Hyperthermia can downregulate the P13K pathway (Choi, 2008).