No knife, no heat, just sound: Singapore clears a machine that liquefies liver tumours with focused ultrasound

Singapore has authorised a genuinely new kind of surgery — one with no incision at all. The Health Sciences Authority has granted market authorisation for the Edison Histotripsy System, a platform that aims tightly focused ultrasound at a liver tumour and uses sound alone to mechanically destroy and liquefy the tissue, with no cuts, no radiation and no heat. The clearance carries weight beyond Singapore: in March 2026 the World Health Organization recognised the HSA as the first regulator in the world to reach Maturity Level 4, its highest grade, and devices registered there can receive streamlined review in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines. The system's maker, HistoSonics, opened its first Asian training centre for the technique at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong last year.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation