Appointments support rising demand for HIFU and advance the "precision sound medicine" platform across new clinical applications
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonablate, a global leader in focused ultrasound technologies, today announced key additions to its leadership team as it scales "precision sound medicine"-using targeted ultrasound energy to treat disease without surgery while preserving patient quality of life.
Martin ("Marty") Wade has been appointed Chairman of the Board, Brian Murrell has joined as Chief Financial Officer, and Yuki Ji serves as SVP, Global Strategy and Education, Chair of Culture and Community Committee (CCC). Together, the expanded leadership team will accelerate global adoption, strengthen clinical integration, and expand Sonablate's platform beyond prostate cancer and into additional therapeutic areas.
The appointments come as demand for non-invasive, focal therapies accelerate, with prostate cancer care shifting toward approaches that balance disease control with quality of life. Clinical data increasingly supports this transition, with studies showing >95% recurrence-free survival at one year and ~80% at five years, while enabling the majority of patients to delay or avoid surgery and radiation. At the same time, real-world utilization of HIFU continues to rise globally, reflecting growing physician adoption and patient preference for treatments that reduce the risk of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. As patients and physicians increasingly reconsider the tradeoffs of traditional surgery and radiation, these trends underscore a broader movement toward precision, outpatient care-positioning precision sound medicine at the forefront of the next era in prostate cancer treatment.
Sonablate's FDA-cleared High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) platform enables physicians to precisely ablate prostate tissue without incisions, reducing the risk of incontinence and erectile dysfunction while delivering effective disease control. Backed by more than two decades of innovation and real-world clinical experience, Sonablate AI-Robotic HIFU has demonstrated strong outcomes across multiple studies. In a multi-center dataset of more than 1,300 patients, metastasis-free survival and prostate cancer-specific survival reached 100% at seven years, with failure-free survival rates of 65-68% in intermediate- and high-risk patients, and 88% in low-risk patients.
Key outcomes include:
- 98.1% of patients maintained urinary continence
- 93.3% experienced no new erectile dysfunction
- 99.9% reported no bowel injury
- 94-96% of patients avoided radical or systemic treatment at four years
Wade brings more than four decades of experience advising executive teams and boards on corporate strategy, capital markets, and transformational growth. He has advised on more than 200 strategic transactions and will guide Sonablate's long-term growth, global expansion, and capital strategy.
Murrell adds nearly 30 years of finance and accounting experience, most recently as a Big Four accounting services partner, where he advised global public companies. As CFO, he will lead financial strategy, operational discipline, and build scalable financial infrastructure to support growth.
Ji brings nearly two decades of medtech leadership experience spanning commercial strategy, physician education, and international market expansion, adding experience across North America, Europe and Asia, including leadership roles at Boston Scientific and Carl Zeiss Meditec. She is recognized for building integrated care ecosystems, developing scalable business models, and advancing physician adoption of innovative technologies across diverse healthcare systems. At Sonablate, she leads global strategy, brand, and education to accelerate category development, expand patient access, and drive sustainable growth.
"Precision sound medicine represents a fundamental shift in how we treat disease-moving from invasive, one-size-fits-all approaches to targeted, patient-centric care," said Richard Yang, CEO of Sonablate. "We believe this will define the future standard of care. As demand accelerates for non-invasive solutions, we are investing in leadership to scale globally, expand access, and build a platform that extends well beyond prostate care."
Sonablate's platform is already transforming prostate cancer treatment and shows growing promise across additional applications, including liver tumors, pancreatic cancer, and other soft-tissue conditions where precision and tissue preservation are critical. With increasing clinical validation and expanding global adoption-supported by regulatory approvals in more than 50 countries-the company is positioned to lead the next wave of ultrasound-based therapeutics.
"Having worked across diverse healthcare systems globally, it is clear that the future of medicine will be defined by treatments that balance efficacy with quality of life," said Ji. "Precision sound medicine has the potential to do exactly that-not only in prostate care, but across a wide range of diseases where non-invasive, targeted therapy can improve outcomes and reduce burden on patients and health systems."
The leadership expansion reflects Sonablate's commitment to advancing precision sound medicine as a scalable, global platform-aligned with the shift toward outpatient care, value-based healthcare, and technologies that deliver better outcomes with fewer side effects.
"At Sonablate, we believe leadership extends beyond technology to the culture we build and the communities we serve," said Ji. "Through advancing physician education, partnering with leading institutions, and championing access and equity-including for veterans-we are shaping a stronger ecosystem that benefits both patients and the future of healthcare."
About Sonablate Corp.
Sonablate Corp. is a global leader in non-invasive, focused ultrasound technologies and a pioneer in precision sound medicine. The company's Sonablate HIFU system is FDA-cleared in the United States for prostate tissue ablation and has received regulatory approvals in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Media Contact:
Mannon Lindhorst
Sonablate@mww.com
