Important Milestone Reached in the Upright Radiation Technology Journey at McLaren Proton Therapy Center
Vahagn Nazaryan, Ph.D, Executive Director and Stephanie Tucker, Radiation Therapist at McLaren Proton Therapy Center with the newly installed upright positioning system from Leo Cancer Care.
In June 2022, the McLaren Proton Therapy Center became one of the first to sign a partnership with Leo Cancer Care, a Wisconsin-based company developing a novel approach to radiation therapy by positioning patients in a seated or upright position.
The innovative solution named Marie™ was inspired by the work of two-time Nobel prize-winning physicist Marie Curie and based on research highlighting that upright positioning results in less organ movement, potentially improving treatment accuracy (Mackie et al 2021). It also creates better communication channels between the patient and clinician, allowing them to connect eye-to-eye.
Fast forward to June 2023, in a huge step forward, the McLaren Proton Therapy Center located in Flint, Michigan, received delivery of the upright patient positioning system, the jewel in the crown of this technology, and has installed it in a testing facility. The early installation of the positioning system will allow the team to start integration and testing while the construction of the two treatment rooms, its permanent home, is finalized, and the work toward the goal of making history and treating the first patient progresses.
The Leo Cancer Care team after completing the installation at McLaren Proton Therapy Center, Flint, Michigan.
The Leo Cancer Care technology being installed at McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, Michigan.
“We are on an exciting journey working with the Leo Cancer Care team in developing an upright patient positioning and imaging solution for the McLaren Proton Therapy Center, said Vahagn Nazaryan, Ph.D, Executive Director of the McLaren Proton Therapy Center. “This is a complex endeavor that brings together some of the best experts in the world in engineering, physics, and proton therapy clinicians from both the McLaren and Leo teams. These experts are working cohesively on creating an integrated system that will increase access to proton therapy while also reducing its cost for all cancer patients who need it. We have already made significant progress in our development of the integrated approach for McLaren and Leo systems to deliver proton therapy upright. It’s been a real pleasure interacting, coordinating, and problem-solving with scientists, clinical experts, and program managers on the Leo team who have proven to be the ideal partner for us to carry this vision to successful fruition.”
McLaren has ordered two upright units from Leo Cancer Care, both fitting into an existing area at its proton center which was originally earmarked for a single conventional rotating gantry where patients would have been treated in the supine position.
With the equipment taking up only half of the designated space and being less costly to develop and install as compared to conventional proton radiotherapy units, proton therapy treatments can be made available to additional patients.
Patient comfort and enhancing the caregiver/patient relationship are at the core of this advancement. Above all, the partnership will play a pivotal role in democratizing care by making proton therapy available to more patients.
Leo Cancer Care is seeking 510k approval for its technology.
Reference: Thomas Rockwell Mackie, Stephen Towe, Niek Schreuder; Is upright radiotherapy medically and financially better?. AIP Conference Proceedings 30 April 2021; 2348 (1): 020002. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0051770
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