Xcision Announces Leading Italian Hospital to Acquire GammaPod™ Stereotactic Radiotherapy System for Breast Cancer
COLUMBIA, Md., April 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Xcision Medical Systems, LLC today announced that Azienda Universitaria Integrata di Udine (ASUIUD) in Italy will acquire the GammaPod™ Stereotactic Radiotherapy System, a new treatment system with the potential to offer shorter courses of highly conformal radiotherapy for women with breast cancer.
"We selected GammaPod because of its practice-changing potential," said Marco Trovò, MD, head of the Radiotherapy Department at ASUIUD. "In Italy and throughout Europe, our field is moving to treat early stage breast cancer patients with shorter courses of radiation. The GammaPod is completely noninvasive and could potentially allow our patients to receive a full course of treatment in only one to five fractions."
The GammaPod uses a first-of-its kind breast cup system that immobilizes the affected breast to minimize motion and provides stereotactic localization for treatment planning. This enables clinicians to precisely target the area to be treated and direct highly conformal doses of radiation that fall off sharply to spare surrounding healthy breast tissue, the heart and lungs. During treatment, the dose is dynamically painted to the target as the patient's breast moves through the point where 25 beams converge to deliver a focal dose of radiation. Additionally, the beams rotate continuously during treatment, which creates thousands of beam angles to improve the uniformity of target coverage.
"ASUIUD is a forward-thinking academic medical center and we are excited they share our vision for improving the treatment experience and quality of life for patients," said Cedric Yu, DSc, chief executive officer of Xcision. "With GammaPod, ASUIUD will be the first center in Europe to offer patients a completely noninvasive option for stereotactic partial breast irradiation."
ASUIUD will join the GammaPod Research Consortium, which was founded by the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, to investigate postoperative and preoperative applications for GammaPod. Postoperatively, researchers plan to study how GammaPod may provide new possibilities for safely treating patients in fewer treatment sessions with higher doses to improve patient convenience and satisfaction. Reducing the number of treatment sessions could also help the ASUIUD improve patient throughput and reduce wait times.
Dr. Trovò believes that GammaPod could one day be used as the primary treatment for appropriately selected patients.
"The potential to one day treat patients noninvasively with a single dose of radiation that ablates the tumor and avoids surgery could revolutionize our field," Trovò said. "It would reduce the burden of treatment on patients while lowering the costs for our society."
GammaPod has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA. In Europe, GammaPod is for investigational use only and cannot be marketed or put into service until it has been made to comply with the Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC). In Italy, Tema Sinergie S.p.A. is the exclusive distributor of the GammaPod system.
About Xcision Medical Systems
Xcision Medical Systems, LLC is a medical technology company developing advanced stereotactic radiotherapy solutions with the potential to dramatically raise the quality of treatments and improve the lives of patients and their loved ones. The company's solutions are designed to extend the benefits of radiation oncology to more patients and enable noninvasive treatments that allow patients to return to living fuller lives more quickly and less painfully after receiving a cancer diagnosis.
Media Contacts
Steve Rubenstein
Vice President of Marketing
Xcision Medical Systems
+1(443) 681-7463
Marco Roncone
Marketing and Communication Manager
Tema Sinergie S.p.A.
Phone: +39 0546 622663
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Xcision Medical Systems, LLC
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