LITTLETON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the federal government focuses its efforts on cancer, a piece of advanced cancer fighting technology has arrived in Washington D.C. A superconducting synchrocyclotron proton accelerator was delivered over the weekend to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. The accelerator, which will become the core of the hospital’s MEVION S250 proton therapy system, was developed and manufactured in the United States and is one of only eight in existence.
When installation is complete, cancer patients in the Washington, D.C. area will gain access to proton therapy -- an advanced form of radiation treatment that targets tumors precisely, while sparing much of the surrounding healthy tissue. Because of its incredible accuracy, proton therapy is ideal for treating pediatric patients, as well as adults with cancers in or near sensitive locations, such as the heart, lungs, brain, eye or spinal cord.
“With President Obama and Vice President Biden calling for the country to come together to fight cancer, it seems fitting that Mevion is bringing some of the world’s most advanced cancer fighting technology to our nation’s capital,” said Joseph K. Jachinowski, the president and CEO of Mevion Medical Systems. “The MEVION S250 represents the best of American ingenuity. It is proven to provide precise, effective and high-quality radiation treatment without the complexity, size and cost of conventional proton therapy systems.”
Conventional proton therapy systems can cost over $200 million to construct and are typically the size of a football field. The MEVION S250 is unique however, in delivering proton therapy for up to 80 percent less cost and 90 percent less space. Mevion systems also require up to 75 percent fewer staff and use up to 90 percent less energy than other proton systems. Furthermore, Mevion proton systems have an industry leading ramp-up time, throughput capabilities and uptime.
Installation of the system at MedStar Georgetown will take approximately ten months. The system will then undergo proton beam tuning to meet the precise clinical requirements for patient treatments. The first proton therapy patient is expected to be treated at MedStar Georgetown in early 2017.
Construction Commences at Ackerman Cancer Center in Jacksonville
The Washington, D.C. installation begins as Ackerman Cancer Center (ACC) in Jacksonville, Florida, breaks ground on the construction of a radiation vault for its second MEVION S250 Series proton therapy system. With the success of its first Mevion system, ACC will be installing a second system, a MEVION S250i with HYPERSCAN pencil beam scanning technology.
The first system opened last April, and quickly achieved the fastest per-room ramp-up in the history of proton therapy. The MEVION S250i installation is expected to be completed in 2017.
Acceptance Testing Complete for Orlando System
Meanwhile, the MEVION S250 under installation at the University of Florida (UF) Health Cancer Center – Orlando Health, in Orlando, Florida, has also achieved a major milestone. It has completed its rigorous acceptance testing and is now entering the clinical commissioning phase. Clinical commissioning is the final step before the first patient is treated.
During an intensive seven days of acceptance testing, the MEVION S250 in Orlando met or exceeded all specifications. Its operational control has been officially transitioned to the physics and radiation oncology proton teams at UF Health Cancer Center. It is expected to begin treating patients in a few months.
Please click this
link for a time lapse video of the proton accelerator
delivery.
High-resolution photos of the proton
accelerator delivery are available, by request.
HYPERSCAN has not been cleared by the USFDA for clinical use.
About Mevion Medical Systems
Mevion Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of proton therapy systems for use in radiation treatment for cancer patients. Mevion’s flagship product, the MEVION S250 proton therapy platform, is the only modular, single room proton therapy system currently on the market. The MEVION S250 integrates with standard radiation therapy workflow and provides a proton therapy treatment environment at a fraction of the cost, footprint and operational complexity of conventional systems.
Mevion is privately held and based in Littleton, Massachusetts, with international offices in the United Kingdom and Japan. For more information, please visit www.mevion.com.
