The BayCare Health System in Florida has become the second institution to offer stand-up proton therapy, which utilizes a compact system from Mevion, stand-up positioning and imaging technology from Leo Cancer Care, as well as treatment planning software from RaySearch.
Tampa, Florida, November 5th / PRNewswire / -- BayCare Proton Center has completed the treatment of its first patient using stand-up proton therapy, marking an important milestone in its mission to bring advanced cancer care closer to the communities it serves.
This proton therapy utilizes MEVION S250 - FIT ™, which is the compact proton therapy system of Mevion Medical Systems, and is integrated with Leo Cancer Care's Marie ® standing patient positioning system and CT imaging solution. BayCare Proton Center is located at Fred J within the St. Joseph's Hospital campus in Tampa, Florida. Woods Radiation Therapy Center is the second clinical site in the world to offer standing proton therapy using these combined technologies.
The proton therapy regimen for BayCare is designed around a super-compact, fixed-beam proton accelerator and is equipped with a rotatable standing patient seat. It can be installed within a typical linear accelerator room, providing a different approach to proton therapy for hospitals compared to traditional large-scale rotary gantry proton devices.
After integration with MEVION S250 - FIT ™, Marie ® has changed another fundamental aspect of the traditional proton therapy environment: how patients are positioned for treatment. Unlike traditional treatment beds where patients lie horizontally, Marie ® allows patients to receive treatment in a standing position, either sitting or semi-sitting, and is equipped with an integrated standing fan-beam CT imaging system to support the treatment process. This approach aims to provide a more patient-centered treatment experience. Additionally, it improves the working environment for radiation therapists by enabling face-to-face communication with patients during the positioning and treatment processes. The treatment plan is generated by RaySearch Laboratories's comprehensive treatment planning system, RayStation ®.
The director of the Department of Radiation Oncology Medicine, Dr. John Greskovich, stated: "Treating our first patient with our innovative proton therapy system is a transformative milestone for BayCare Cancer Institute. More importantly, it is so for the patients and communities we serve. Patients in central and western Florida can now receive proton therapy locally, without having to travel long distances to receive this advanced cancer treatment."
Leo Cancer Care CEO Stephen Towe stated: "Reaching this milestone with BayCare is far more significant than just treating the first patient. It demonstrates the possibilities that arise when we re-examine the size of proton therapy systems and the way patients are positioned during treatment. Together with Mevion, we are working to create a model that will bring advanced, patient-centered proton therapy to more hospitals and bring it closer to the communities they serve."
President and CEO Tina Yu Dr. Mevion Medical Systems stated: "We designed MEVION S250 - FIT to challenge the traditional requirements of proton therapy for infrastructure and to enable more hospitals to adopt it. It is inspiring to see BayCare putting the FIT system into clinical use and integrating Leo Cancer Care's Marie ® in a standard linear accelerator-sized room, demonstrating the benefits that compact proton therapy and stand-up treatment can bring."
BayCare Cancer Institute is affiliated with BayCare Health System, which is a non-profit academic medical system that provides services to the communities of Tampa Bay and central and western Florida.
About Leo Cancer Care
Leo Cancer Care is challenging the traditional approach to radiotherapy delivery by adopting a standing position, placing the patient at the center of the treatment process. Its Marie ® solution combines 360-degree standing patient positioning with integrated CT imaging and can be used in conjunction with fixed particle beams. By eliminating the need for large rotating gantries, this technology aims to reduce the space and infrastructure required for advanced radiotherapy, while providing a more natural and patient-centered treatment experience. For more information, please visit: leocancercare.com.
About BayCare Cancer Institute
BayCare is a leading non-profit academic medical system that provides a wide range of services to individuals and families through 16 hospitals, including one children's hospital, as well as hundreds of convenient locations in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and the central-western region. The system is the largest provider of cardiac, behavioral health, and pediatric services in central-western Florida, and its medical group, BayCare Medical Group, is also one of the largest medical groups in the region. BayCare's diversified outpatient service network includes laboratories, imaging centers, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care sites, health centers, and BayCare HomeCare, one of the largest home care organizations in Florida. BayCare also sponsors BayCarePlus ®, a Medicare Advantage project. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of the people it serves through all medical services in the community and to establish standards for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, please visit BayCare.org.
About Mevion Medical Systems
Mevion Medical Systems is a leading provider of compact proton therapy systems in the field of cancer care. The company is committed to advancing the design and accessibility of proton therapy worldwide, having been among the first to introduce single-room platforms, and continues to drive the advancement of science and applications in proton therapy. Since 2013, Mevion's compact proton therapy single-room systems have been used for patient treatment at leading cancer centers. Mevion's product range includes MEVION S250i ® and MEVION S250 - FIT ™, which are equipped with HYPERSCAN ® pencil-beam scanning. Mevion is headquartered in Littleton, Massachusetts, and has operations in Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit mevion.com.
About RaySearch Laboratories
RaySearch Laboratories AB ( publ ) is a medical technology company that develops innovative software solutions to improve cancer treatment. RaySearch sells the RayStation ®* Treatment Planning System ( TPS ) and Tumor Information Systems ( OIS ) RayCare ®*. The latest addition to its product line is the RayIntelligence ®*. RayIntelligence is a tumor analysis system ( OAS ) that helps cancer clinics collect, organize, and analyze data. The software from RaySearch has been sold to over 1,200 clinics in 54 countries. The company was founded in 2000, resulting from a spin-off from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and its shares have been listed on NASDAQ Stockholm since 2003 ( STO : RAY B ). For more information, please visit raysearchlabs.com.
