Mevion Medical Systems announced today the successful upgrade of the world's first single-room proton therapy system to the latest MEVION S250i Proton Therapy System® with FLASH* capabilities. Patient treatments have commenced in November at the S. Lee Kling Proton Therapy Center at Siteman Cancer Center, situated at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Serving patients from Missouri, Southern Illinois, and beyond, the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center now features Mevion's modular 1+1 expansion configuration, housing two MEVION S250i systems for treating various pediatric and adult indications, including lung, brain, head and neck, gastrointestinal, gynecologic tumors, and other complex cases.

This cutting-edge upgrade offers precise radiation treatment, minimizing unnecessary exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and vital organs. The inaugural patient treated is a young adult with breast cancer, benefiting from reduced radiation to healthy tissues like the heart and lungs, thereby lowering the risk of long-term toxicities.

The MEVION S250i system integrates Mevion's advanced HYPERSCAN® Pencil Beam Scanning for Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) with a proton MLC. It also includes a sophisticated 3D imaging system for high-precision Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and adaptive therapy. Notably, the system introduces the FLASH therapy technique, delivering an ultra-high dose rate of therapeutic radiation in under a second without invasiveness. This innovative approach holds the potential to significantly enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatments while concurrently reducing side effects and shortening treatment durations.

Source: businesswire.com