Detroit-based Henry Ford Cancer Institute today announced the “ViewRay MRIdian Linac,” an advanced radiation therapy that uses an FDA-approved real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and linear accelerator delivery to achieve more precise radiation treatment. The treatment is the first of its kind in the world, according to Henry Ford Cancer Institute officials.
The ViewRay MRIdian Linac is the first FDA-approved commercially viable accelerator-based MRI-guided radiation therapy system that can also image and treat patients at the same time. The ViewRay system combines the accuracy of MRI with a linear accelerator, which is used to map out a therapy plan and deliver radiation to the target, while at the same time accommodating for natural movement in the body in real-time during the treatment.
“We believe our system will lead to a new standard of care in radiation oncology,” says Chris Raanes, president and CEO of ViewRay. “With ViewRay’s first generation MRIdian system clinicians saw for the first time how much tumors and organs move and change shape during the course of treatment.”
The ViewRay system allows for radiation treatment that preserves the surrounding healthy tissue and adjusts for the natural movement of a tumor and the body’s internal organs during treatment.
“This is the future in our field,” adds Dr. Benjamin Movsas, chair of the department of radiation oncology at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute and a national expert. “This technology will allow us to optimize in real-time the delivery of radiation.”
Dr. Movsas adds that while the system will be used to treat all types of cancers in the body, it is especially beneficial for tumors where there is typically movement during treatment, including tumors in the liver, pancreas, adrenal, and lung. The advanced system also will deliver a new level of care to include breast, prostate, kidney, and gynecologic cancers, among others.
The FDA approved the company’s next generation model for use in February. It will be installed at the Cancer Institute at Henry Ford Medical Center-Cottage in Grosse Pointe Farms. The next generation model will be ready to treat patients in July 2017.
