The Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has become the first facility in the world to acquire ViewRay's new MR-guided MRIdian linear accelerator technology.

The system, which is currently only for non-clinical research, incorporates MR guidance into the delivery of radiation therapy, allowing for more precise dose delivery that can monitor tumor and internal organ movement as the treatment is in progress. The technology is being developed as an upgrade to the current MRIdian cobalt system, which ViewRay said is the "world's first and only" MR-guided radiation therapy system.

That original MRIdian system was also developed through a partnership with Washington University - and Siteman Cancer Center was the first center to treat patients with it. Integrating MR with radiation delivery and software to locate, target and track the position and shape of soft-tissue tumors during radiation treatment allows for better dose distribution and consequently better outcomes.
Speaking at the 36th Annual Cowen Healthcare Conference last week, ViewRay's CEO Chris Raanes explained the rationale, according to a report by Medical Physics Web.

"We've had great progress since the launch of the MRIdian. We've treated patients at four top cancer centres around the world and in the first two years it has been used to treat over 25 different types of cancer," he said. "The only significant push back that the company has seen is that some people just don't like the cobalt radiation source."

The new linac system was developed, in part, to appeal to those customers who might be more comfortable with linear accelerator technology. Through the partnership with Siteman and Washington University, they will determine how to optimize the capabilities of the system for patient treatment.

"Researchers at Washington University are renowned for groundbreaking research that ultimately provides significant patient benefits," said Raanes, in a statement. "They played a leading role in the development, testing and clinical implementation of the MRIdian system, and we are delighted to have them as a research partner for our new linac technology."

In January, the Siteman team celebrated two years of treating patients with the MRIdian cobalt system for more than 25 different indications. In addition, Washington University physicians have had more than 40 papers and posters accepted at major medical meetings and published eight studies in peer-reviewed medical journals on their experience with MRI-guided radiation therapy.

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