Researchers at Washington University to Explore Mevion HYPERSCAN Technology for Improving Robustness of IMPT Delivery

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 19, 2015– Mevion Medical Systems is expanding its collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis to study Mevion’s HYPERSCAN pencil beam scanning technology and its effects on the delivery of intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) treatment delivery. The two institutions have entered into a master research agreement to expand their existing arrangement, which supports clinical education programs for proton therapy.

The research leverages the clinical expertise of Washington University’s Department of Radiation Oncology in proton therapy, motion management, image-guided and adaptive radiation therapy.  It utilizes the MEVION S250 proton therapy technology located in the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The announcement was made at the 57th annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), held Oct. 18 – 21 in San Antonio.

“It is exciting to explore the clinical advantages of our HYPERSCAN technology with a prestigious research institution such as Washington University, with an ultimate goal to expand the clinical benefits of proton therapy,” said Townsend Zwart, PhD, senior director of advanced development at Mevion Medical Systems. “Our HYPERSCAN pencil beam scanning technology can deliver highly robust IMPT treatments by scanning faster and with sharper spots. Through this program, we will explore some of the most pressing questions associated with pencil beam scanning delivery, which are linked to uncertainties with patient and tumor motion and lead clinicians to potentially question treatment efficacy.”

Sasa Mutic, PhD, director of the Medical Physics Division at Washington University added, “Our proton therapy system has had nearly two years of treating patients. We are excited to leverage our system and our proton therapy expertise for research that will lead to a better understanding of the best ways to use proton therapy to treat cancer patients.”

Washington University has also developed a multi-center proton patient registry and clinical education programs to benefit all proton therapy centers worldwide. “Our patient registry is open to any particle therapy center that wishes to participate. We are excited to collect both clinical data along with patient treatment plans in order to track clinical outcomes,” said Jeffrey Bradley, MD, medical director of the S. Lee Kling Proton Therapy Center. The Siteman Cancer Center has extensive experience in developing clinical registries, and this proton registry benefits from the integration of a unique dosimetry component that will allow centers to have access to sample treatment plans.

The clinical proton therapy education program was developed based on the experience of Washington University in delivery of best-in-class clinical training. The first Washington University proton therapy course was delivered last year and brought together more than 30 international attendees.

The MEVION S250 at Siteman Cancer Center has been operational since December 2013. In that time, the technology has treated nearly 250 cancer patients (75 percent adults and 25 percent pediatric patients) with a wide variety of complex tumors, including 44 percent in the intracranial region, 24 percent in the lungs, 10 percent in the craniospinal region, 7 percent in the prostate and 5 percent in the head and neck.

Nine Mevion proton therapy systems are currently operational or under installation at leading cancer centers in the United States and in Europe. To learn more about Mevion during ASTRO, please visit booth 650 in the exhibit hall.

About Mevion Medical Systems
Mevion Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of proton therapy systems for use in radiation treatment for cancer patients. The MEVION S250 Series is elegantly designed to deliver high-powered, efficient proton therapy treatments. Built upon the world’s only gantry-mounted proton accelerator and benefitting from Mevion’s patented direct beam technology, the MEVION S250 Series delivers on the therapeutic promise of proton therapy while enhancing beam quality, stability and uptime. The result is reduced system complexity, higher reliability and throughput, and lower capital and operating costs—making the MEVION S250 Series a compelling, financially viable solution for all cancer centers.

Mevion is privately held and based in Littleton, Massachusetts, with international offices in the United Kingdom and Japan and a joint venture in China. For more information, please visit www.mevion.com.