ASTRO 2022 - When Proton Therapy Truly Became Ultra-Compact and More Accessible
As we sit here reflecting on ASTRO 2022, with the smiles still beaming on our faces, we thought we’d highlight some of our favorite moments and memories from the event with you all.
Big Announcements
ASTRO 2022 was full of big announcements for us, before ASTRO 2022 we announced a partnership with RaySearch which allows us to start sharing with the industry how upright treatment planning will work in the clinic. We even showcased some of the first images taken on our upright CT using a phantom and an example of a treatment plan that received significant interest from attendees. We are incredibly excited to continue building on our relationship with RaySearch and sharing best practices with the industry. Read more here.
Next came the announcement of our partnership with Mevion, where together, our two businesses will provide an ultra-compact proton therapy solution. Allowing hospitals that previously thought they did not have the space or the budget to implement proton therapy the ability to do so. This solution is called MEVION S250-FIT. Read more here.
Then came the exciting announcement of the first customer who will be implementing the MEVION S250-FIT system that combines Mevion’s ultra-compact accelerator with our upright patient positioning system and fan-beam, dual-energy CT scanner. Both businesses were delighted to announce that Stanford University Hospital will be the first customer to receive this solution. Stanford has been waiting for many years to be able to offer proton therapy at its facility, but space and financial barriers had always been too large to overcome, until now.
The Full Marie™ Solution Displayed In the US For The First Time
We showcased our full upright particle therapy solution, named Marie™, in the US for the very first time. We always love seeing people’s first impressions of her, as she looks quite different from conventional solutions utilized today. So many attendees stopped by to experience upright positioning for themselves, there was hardly a time when our team were not offering demos to those who chose to stop by. A huge thank you to our Training Managers Jemma and Shane who were busy providing demos throughout the entire show.
We have to say a huge thank you to CIVCO Radiotherapy for providing us with immobilization devices so we could show attendees how the immobilization of a patient works in the upright orientation. We also showcased for the first time a white backrest supplied by CIVCO Radiotherapy to try out a new look for Marie™. We also need to praise our engineer, Tanner, who led a team of people who did not know our system and installed the demo Marie™ perfectly for the show.
What was truly great about this show, was representatives from all our US customer sites visited our booth and spent some time with our product experts and tried out the system for themselves. Seeing their excitement about getting their hands on the system once they are installed in their clinics was truly something special for the team to see. We had faith that our products could change the face of radiation therapy and now it feels like many others are also believing in the benefits of upright radiation therapy and how this could truly be the future of radiation therapy across the globe.
Watch this Space, Lots of Great Content to Come
During the show, we filmed lots of great content with our partners mentioned previously in this piece and captured some content with our customers too. Make sure you are following us on our social channels, so you do not miss out on all the upcoming content that we will release over the coming weeks.
*Please note that both Leo Cancer Care's products and Mevion's S250-FIT Proton Therapy System are not yet available for clinical use, pending regulatory approval.