Stanford (Calif.) Medicine launched the world’s first upright, compact proton therapy delivery system during an April 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stanford Medicine Cancer Center in Palo Alto, Calif.
The size and shape of the system enable patients to remain upright during treatment and fit into a standard linear accelerator vault, according to an April 7 news release from Stanford.
About four years ago, Billy Loo, MD, PhD, professor of radiation oncology and co-director of particle therapy at Stanford Medicine, and his colleagues brought Mevion Medical Systems and Leo Cancer Care together to design and develop the new system.
“Once we brought the companies together, the light bulbs went on,” Dr. Loo said in the release. “They said, ‘OK, we will make this product,’ and Stanford Medicine agreed to be the first customer.”
While Stanford Medicine is the first to launch the technology, the system will be adopted by other healthcare systems over the next several months to years, the release said.
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