by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | March 08, 2018
RaySearch Laboratories is teaming up with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in a series of initiatives that aim to enhance radiotherapy capabilities and may open up access to a form of treatment only available to highly specialized care centers.
The two will utilize RaySearch’s technology with the clinical data and expertise of MD Anderson to improve targeting and management of changes for tumors, as well as increase the availability of adaptive radiation therapy (ART), which enables up-to-date evaluations of physical changes and treatments tailored specifically for individual patients.
“The technology to perform adaptive radiation therapy has been around for a number of years, and studies have demonstrated its advantages,” said Caroline Chung, assistant professor of radiation oncology at MD Anderson, in a statement. “However, it is a complex process that has not yet been broadly adopted in clinical practice and is largely limited to highly specialized care centers.”
Unexpected changes in a tumor and surrounding normal tissue can complicate the ability to delineate precise locations of tumors during treatment, ushering in the need for up-to-date monitoring.
Together, both enterprises aim to integrate advanced imaging to enhance targeting of tumors during treatment planning, using the RayStation treatment planning system and RayCare to personalize treatment and develop digital workflow.
The two will work to establish a methodology and workflow that will be clinically tested at MD Anderson and can be streamlined and automated to increase scale of use for adaptive radiation therapy.
They also are focused on managing changes in masses to monitor and adjust treatment, to accommodate each patient’s condition during any point of therapy. They plan to develop software components to create a new standard of care in radiation therapy.
“This strategic partnership between MD Anderson and RaySearch is an incredibly important milestone for RaySearch,” Johan Löf, Ph.D., CEO and founder of RaySearch, said in a statement. “It is one of the most ambitious collaborations that we have ever engaged in. With RayStation and RayCare as the technological platforms, paired with the expertise of MD Anderson, I believe that we can make tremendous progress toward our vision of a world where cancer is conquered.”
The strategic partnership builds upon a
previous collaboration between the two which oversaw the use of RaySearch’s oncology information system, RayCare, to support complex logistical challenges at all of MD Anderson’s sites in the Greater Houston area.
Back to HCB News
