Pacific Northwest Prepares for First Proton Therapy Center
The Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) has announced plans to open a 22 million dollar Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (PBRT) treatment facility which will be the first one of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
PBRT is designed to target tumors that are in close proximity to critical body structures. It is currently used to treat cancers of the brain, breast, esophagus, eye, prostate, spine, head and neck, but it is not available in many regions. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 20 PBRT centers are in operation around the world and only a few of those facilities are located in the United States.
Executives from SCI have already contracted with Still River Systems of Littleton, Massachusetts, to purchase their latest generation of PBRT equipment, marketed under the trade name Clinatron 250. Partnership plans are also underway with other suburban Seattle hospitals, including the Providence Everett Medical Center, to give future cancer patients and healthcare providers improved access to the new–and expensive–technology. According to Cal Knight, Swedish’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,
“There is no need for multiple institutions to invest in duplicate medical technology if we can share it effectively for the benefit of all patients in the Pacific Northwest.”
Still River Systems, Inc, is still in the process of obtaining marketing clearance for the Clinatron 250 from the US Food and Drug Administration, but SCI executives are optimistic and have tentatively projected a December 2010 target date to begin patient treatments with the new PBRT system.
Source: Swedish Cancer Institute
Related Links: Aetna; Blue Cross CA; American Shared Hospital Services; OncoLink; St Louis dBusinessNews; LLUMC
Related Video: Proton Therapy Video (Source: University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute)
Tags: radiology; Puget Sound; Washington; CMS, Inc; radiosurgery
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