HIFU research began as far back as the 1950s at Indiana University. However, the first human prostate cancer study was conducted in 1994 by Dr. Marberger and Dr. Madersbacher at the University of Vienna in Austria using the Sonablate 200 treating 29 human prostates prior to performing a radical prostatectomy. The goal was to see if the energy delivered was enough to destroy the desired tissue. The study found that treatment could be performed safely and could be repeated. In 1995, a different study, done at Indiana University showed that the entire prostate could be treated without damaging the prostate capsule or the rectal wall. In 1999, Dr. Toyaki Uchida began treating patients using the Sonablate in Japan. The device received approval for use in Europe with the CE Mark in 2001 and in 2004, treatment became available at hospitals and treatment centers in Mexico, Costa Rica, South Africa and the Caribbean. Health Canada approved the Sonablate 500 in June 2005 and the first Sonablate procedures were performed in Toronto in March 2006. Currently, there are approximately 500 physicians using HIFU worldwide and over 50,000 total procedures have been completed. SonaCare Medical is the manufacturer of the Sonablate and received clearance from the FDA for prostate cancer ablation in October 2015.