Florida Medical Device Manufacturer Announces New Product Release for Radiation Therapy

SANFORD, Fla., Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- .decimal, Inc. (pronounced dot decimal), an innovative manufacturer of patient-specific medical devices for radiation therapy, announced that it received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market electron apertures for use with Varian treatment machines.  These devices are now available to radiation oncology centers across the U.S. and Canada.  

Electron apertures -- also known as electron 'cutouts' by radiation therapy departments -- are medical devices required for the targeted delivery of electrons to patients in radiation therapy.

As a medical device, an electron aperture is a metal tool featuring an opening through which a radiation beam passes during the delivery of electrons to a patient with a tumor, as in the case of neck and head or breast cancer.

Hospitals and cancer centers across the U.S. will order electron apertures via the internet and receive the devices already in the mold frames within 24 to 72 hours from receipt of an order.

By providing custom-made electron apertures to radiation oncology centers, .decimal® helps these facilities reduce the cost of maintaining an on-site mold room, which can add to the department or facility's costs.

"At .decimal®, our staff excels at the development of radiation therapy devices based on our customers' needs," said Richard Sweat, President and CEO of .decimal, Inc. "We are energized that the release of Electron Apertures can eliminate the need to handle toxic materials like Cerrobend at medical facilities."

Cerrobend is an alloy composed of cadmium, lead and tin which can be shaped at relatively low temperatures, but releases toxic fumes that, when produced at a medical facility, have the potential for affecting clinical personnel thus requiring expensive ventilation systems.

With this solution, .decimal® provides radiation therapy facilities the ability to focus on treating patients, rather than manufacturing medical devices.

From its primary manufacturing center in Central Florida, .decimal, Inc. operates over 30 Mazak precision-milling machines managed by a team of custom manufacturing professionals with over two decades of experience.

Since 1986, .decimal® has manufactured over 150,000 patient-specific devices for cancer treatment centers across the United States and Japan -- a proven track record that continues to serve its customers with a variety of FDA-compliant custom medical device manufacturing services.

For more information about .decimal® Electron Apertures and other medical devices, visit http://www.dotdecimal.com/products/ElectronAperture.

About .decimal, Inc.

.decimal® is a medical device manufacturer of patient-specific radiation therapy devices including BolusECT® compensators for electron conformal therapy, missing tissue compensators, modulators for advanced Solid IMRT® delivery, and apertures and range compensators used in proton therapy. .decimal® has been serving radiation oncology professionals and their patients for 25 years in the U.S. and is currently expanding its markets to cancer patients on a global scale.

For more information on .decimal®, please visit http://www.dotdecimal.com.

SOURCE .decimal, Inc.