Sonnetica
Dr. Igal Ilouz, CEO
Email: igal.ilouz@sonnetica.com
SONNETICA is an Israeli startup company that has developed an ultrasound-based technology for non-invasive treatments of shallow targets in the skin, for aesthetic applications such as anti-cellulite, skin tightening, and eliminating the appearance of varicose veins.
This breakthrough and proprietary technology allows exceptionally precise, controllable, and versatile tissue effect, either mechanical or thermal.
Long lasting anti-cellulite solution is one of the most intense and unmet market demands. Cellulite, or so called orange peel skin, is a dimpled appearance of the skin caused by protrusion of the fat lobules from the sub-dermal adipose tissue into the dermis.
It affects more than 85% of post-pubertal females of all races and leads to a very troubling aesthetic problem.
Currently there is no true long-lasting, non invasive solution for cellulite. The newest development in this area was when on Feb 2011 Cynosure Inc. launched the first ever long-lasting cellulite reduction system, but this procedure is minimally invasive and requires local anesthesia.
The aesthetic market is eager for much more satisfactory solutions also for other common aesthetic problems as skin tightening and varicose veins, which currently suffer from suboptimal solutions, mainly due to the discomfort and the short lasting efficacy of the procedure.
During the last few years, ultrasound-based solutions have emerged in the aesthetic market, demonstrating unique advantages.
One of the merits is the ability to focus intense energy at targets while sparing the tissues between the device and the treated zone. Due to the lack of “know how” in therapeutic ultrasound, there are only a few ultrasound-based companies compared to numerous RF-based and Light-based companies in the aesthetic arena.
As of today, there are 3 major ultrasound-based players - UltraShape and Liposinix - use ultrasound for lipolysis of fat cells that are deeper than the cellulite fat lobules. Ulthera, on the other hand, developed a system that targets tissue at shallower depths for skin tightening thru thermal interaction.
Sonnetica was founded and is currently spearheaded by a team of experts with extensive experience in the areas of medical applications of therapeutic and imaging ultrasound:
Igal Ilouz, PhD. – CEO. PhD. in physics. Has experience with R&D leading of innovative technologies in start-up companies. In last position was the manager of a project to develop a unique ultrasound technology in diagnosis & treatment of vascular diseases.
Prof. Dan Adam, D.Sc. - Founder and scientific adviser. A globally recognized specialist in medical imaging & therapeutic ultrasound and control of thermotherapy. He is the acting Dean of Faculty of Biomedical Engineering in the Technion, Israel.
Benjamin P. Sabbah - Founder and Technological & business Adviser. 35 years of experience in management of high-tech companies. He was co-founder and CEO of Elscint Ltd.
Dr. Zvi Friedman Ph.D - Founder and Technological & business Adviser. PhD. in physics. Holds years of ultrasound development experience. An expert of medical applications of Ultrasound. He is acting as the Director of clinical research and R&D in GE UltraSound Ltd.
Sonnetica has patented a breakthrough ultrasound-based technology, a result of more than a decade of research in the Technion (The Israel Institute of Technology).
This technology overcomes a major barrier of traditional HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) of treating selectively shallow targets within the skin. An innovative extra-body transducer transmits acoustic waveforms in such a manner that significantly decreases the cavitation threshold in a precise target volume, which is much localized than the standard focal depth.
Therefore, lower level of acoustic energy is sufficient to generate a highly localized cloud of micro-bubbles. Their controlled implosions lead to mechanical forces selectively affecting the precise target.
These micro-bubbles may also serve as contrast agents for localized ultrasonic absorption leading to localized thermal tissue damage, upon operator’s choice.
This way, fat cells adjacent to the dermis are effectively and selectively destroyed whereas the surrounding skin remains unharmed. The pain level is negligible as the mechanical interaction (thru the "cold" cavitation) barely heats up the tissue.
The same technology is applicable for non-invasive ANTI- CELLULITE treatment (disruption of shallow fat pockets), SKIN TIGHTENING (stimulating collagen within the dermis) and closure of VARICOSE VEINS.
The company has demonstrated preclinical feasibility proof on in-vivo swine model.
The targeted fat cells closest to the dermis layer in the skin were destructed, whereas the surrounding tissue was unharmed. The company is currently pursuing towards demonstration of clinical feasibility on human.
The company is exploring opportunities for strategic partnership with a globally established company in the aesthetic arena.