Tests Of New Proton Therapy Technology Exceed Expectations
FLINT (WWJ) -- Texas-based ProTom International Inc. says initial test results of a new proton therapy system it installed at McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint are exceeding expectations of medical physicists in charge of commissioning the device for medical use.
Speaking of the depth-dose data acquired from the scanning proton beam system during acceptance testing, McLaren's principal consulting physicist Alfred R. Smith said: "The raw data is extremely clean and smooth."
The depth-dose data measures a key quality of protons to deliver most of their energy in a small and precisely defined area, confining the high dose to the target area and sparing normal tissues nearby.
The new Radiance 330 system employs the Proton Beam Scanning (PBS) treatment delivery technique, and the McLaren team tested key characteristics of the scanned beam delivered to instrumentation in water tanks that closely approximate the radiation absorption and scattering properties of muscle and other soft tissues.
"We have been impressed by the stability of the system during our testing," said Sung Park, chief physicist for the MPTC. "We observed very impressive beam performance during ProTom's technical commissioning, and these results are now being independently measured and reproduced by our clinical physics team. We have collected all the data necessary to validate our treatment planning system for Radiance 330. Beam modeling is underway; next, we'll deliver some sample plans to phantom for comparison. We look forward to clinically commissioning our first patient treatment room."
ProTom is a medical device company committed to offering the most advanced and affordable generation of proton therapy systems so that patients in need of this cutting-edge treatment may have this option close to home, close to their physicians. ProTom continues to accelerate innovation so physicians and the patients they care for can have the very best weapons in the fight against cancer. To find out more about the future of proton therapy, visit us at www.protominternational.com.
McLaren Health Care Corp., based in Flint, 11 hospitals and other ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, the state's only proton therapy center, an employed primary care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering over 250,000 lives, home health care and hospice, durable medical equipment, retail pharmacy services, and a wholly-owned medical malpractice insurance company.
McLaren recently took over the Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only two NCI-designated cancer centers in the state. It has 19,500 employees and more than 20,000 network physicians.
The operations and services of MHC are housed in more than 300 buildings serving a 53-county market with a population in excess of 6.5 million lives.
Learn more at www.mclaren.org.
The Radiance 330 Proton Therapy System has not yet been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for commercial distribution in the United States.
