A device that fires radio waves at the penis to firm up tissue could help men with erectile dysfunction.

Called VerticaPro, the gadget resembles a hand-held games console with a hole in the middle, attached to a mobile power unit.

After conductive gel has been applied, the penis is placed through the hole and a button is pressed to beam low frequency radio waves through the skin and into the soft, spongy tissue inside where blood pools during an erection.

The technology, already used to firm up saggy skin, is thought to strengthen collagen fibres inside the penis – leading to firmer erections. A miniature version of the gadget, called Vertica, which can be used at home – costs around £1,200 and has been available in the UK since 2023.

Now the company behind the technology, Ohh-Med Medical, has launched a ‘turbo-charged’ version – featuring advanced energy delivery to target tissue more accurately and powerfully.

VerticaPro is being rolled out to selected private clinics across the UK over the next few weeks.

It is targeted at men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction who have not responded to – or have declined to take – anti-impotence drugs, such as sildenafil (brand name Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis).

One in five men in the UK – around 4.3million in total – suffer with erectile dysfunction.

One in five men in the UK – around 4.3million in total – suffer with erectile dysfunction

Ageing is a key factor, but reduced blood flow to the genitals – due to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and the effects of obesity – can also wreck a man’s libido.

Some research suggests it can be an early warning sign for cardiovascular disease.

While Viagra and similar drugs have transformed treatment over the past two decades, up to one in five patients do not experience an improvement on the drugs. They also have potential side-effects, from headaches and facial flushing to dizziness and nasal congestion.

According to VerticaPro’s manufacturer, low-energy radiofrequency works by gently heating the corpus cavernosum – the spongy bed of collagen which expands during stimulation to fill the penis with blood and produce a firm erection.

This heating, it claims, boosts collagen growth and elasticity so that, once blood flows into the organ, it can be retained there by the surrounding collagen – maintaining the erection.

A pilot study in 2023 of 40 men showed over 85 per cent experienced statistically significant improvements in erectile function after 12 sessions over eight weeks, with no serious side-effects, reported the Journal of Impotence Research.

However, the study was sponsored by the manufacturer. A larger 200-patient clinical trial is currently under way in the US.

But this is not a cheap option. The UK clinics will provide 12 sessions, over four weeks, at a cost of around £1,500. Patients may also require regular DIY home treatments to maintain the effects.

VerticaPro is being rolled out to selected private clinics across the UK over the next few weeks. It is targeted at men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction

A miniature version of the gadget, called Vertica, which can be used at home – costs around £1,200 and has been available in the UK since 2023

Professor David Ralph, a consultant urologist and andrologist at University College London Hospitals, says the VerticaPro device could help many men because it ‘targets the underlying physiology’ of erectile dysfunction – rather than just the symptoms.

He says: ‘By using controlled radiofrequency energy to gently heat tissue, it is thought to improve blood flow, support vascular responsiveness, and stimulate longer-term tissue changes involved in erectile function.

‘It aims to enhance the body’s own erectile mechanism over time rather than producing a short-term pharmacological effect.’

Wai Gin Lee, a consultant urological surgeon at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, adds: ‘This is a novel, non-invasive approach. It targets the structural causes of erectile dysfunction, rather than simply providing a temporary symptomatic effect as oral drugs do.

‘For selected patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction, it provides a drug-free option supported by encouraging early clinical data.’