Upright Radiotherapy Treatments Are One Step Closer to Being a Reality at McLaren Proton Therapy Center

Leo Cancer Care has delivered the second integral piece of its technology to the McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, Michigan.

The Leo Cancer Care team installing the upright CT scanner to be paired with the positioning system for testing, at McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, Michigan US.

In December, 2023 a CT scanner to pair with their first upright radiotherapy solution was delivered for installation in their testing and development environment. It will allow the Center to continue its integration and testing activities. This exciting delivery means the McLaren Proton Therapy Center is one step closer to making history and treating the first patient with this pioneering technology.

In June 2022, the McLaren Proton Therapy Center established a partnership with Leo Cancer Care, a company headquartered in Wisconsin that specializes in developing innovative radiation therapy solutions. This collaboration marks an important milestone as Leo Cancer Care pioneers a novel approach, allowing patients to receive their treatments in a seated, upright position.

An early construction photo taken at McLaren Proton Therapy Center showing the treatment room originally built for one gantry now divided into two upright rooms.

The innovative solution is named Marie™ after the renowned physicist Marie Curie who was awarded the Nobel Prize twice. It is based on research that shows upright positioning reduces organ movement and improves treatment accuracy (Mackie et al 2021). Additionally, Marie™ will enhance patient experiences by enabling direct eye contact and improved interaction between patients and clinicians during treatment.

The McLaren Proton Therapy Center is making exciting progress as it nears the completion of two new rooms that will house the cutting-edge Marie™ systems. The center received the first component of the advanced Marie™ solution, the upright patient positioning system, back in July 2023. This system has already been successfully installed in their testing facility, allowing for seamless integration and testing during the ongoing construction period. 

“McLaren is installing these two gantry-less Marie™ solutions from Leo Cancer Care into a space originally planned to house a single rotating gantry system,” said Vahagn Nazaryan, PhD,  executive director of the center. “This decision will significantly increase McLaren's capacity to treat patients, increasing accessibility to life-saving and life-extending proton therapy.”

*Please note that Leo Cancer Care is seeking 510k approval for its technology prior to first patient treatment.

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