10,000th Patient Receives Treatment with ViewRay's MRIdian System
CLEVELAND, Sept. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY) announced today that 10,000 patients have been treated to date using the company's MRIdian(®) MRI-Guided Radiation Therapy System, the world's first system to combine MR imaging with radiation delivery.
Unlike conventional radiation therapy systems, MRIdian combines an MRI system with a radiation therapy system. This feature, together with other technical innovations, offers advantages for the delivery of safe and effective radiotherapy. These features include the ability to see the tumor and surrounding tissue during treatment, adaptation of the therapy in response to changes in patient anatomy and tumor size between treatments, continuously track the tumor during treatment, and automatically pause the radiation if the tumor moves outside of the boundary. As a result, the system is able to deliver high-dose radiation to the tumor while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue from damage.
The world's first MRI-guided radiation therapy treatment was performed six years ago on January 15, 2014 at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Clifford G. Robinson, M.D., was the world's first radiation oncologist to treat a patient using MRI-guided radiation therapy.
"I remember the day well," said Dr. Robinson, professor of Radiation Oncology and chief of service, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) at Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine. "The very first patient received treatment for a painful bone metastasis. The moment after we imaged the patient with the MRIdian, we instantly saw the true extent of tumor involvement, and it became clear to me that this was going to be a paradigm shift in our field."
As one of the world's leading cancer centers, Siteman Cancer Center is known for pioneering the advancement and adoption of innovative technologies with a focus on improving patient care and outcomes. More than 1,300 patients have been treated on MRIdian at Siteman Cancer Center, which has utilized both the first-generation cobalt version and second generation MRIdian Linac.
"We're proud to have played an integral role in the development and implementation of MRI-guided radiation therapy," said Olga L. Green, Ph.D., chief of service for MRIgRT and Director of the Medical Physics Residency program at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. "The integration of MRI guidance, on-table adaptive radiotherapy, and real-time anatomy targeting has provided us with opportunities to expand treatment options for our patients over the last six years. This patient treatment milestone was made possible by the increasing recognition by more and more institutions around the world that this cutting-edge approach has the potential to make a significant impact in our field."
MRIdian was invented by ViewRay Founder and Chief Scientific Officer James F. Dempsey, Ph.D. Dr. Dempsey completed his doctorate in nuclear chemistry at Washington University and his postdoctoral studies, as well as his medical physics residency, in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine.
"At ViewRay, we have always believed in working to make the impossible possible in order to change the paradigm of care," said Dr. Dempsey. "This spirit enabled us to pioneer the MRIdian, not only as the world's first MRI-guided system, but one which still provides proprietary capabilities to quickly adapt the therapy and continuously track the tumor during treatment. These powerful innovations have enabled clinicians to deliver higher doses of radiation to cancer patients with fewer side effects. I am grateful for opportunity to partner with clinicians around the world who are employing MRIdian to deliver better outcomes in cancer care."
Currently 38 MRIdian systems are installed at hospitals around the world, where they are used to treat a wide variety of solid tumors and are the focus of numerous ongoing research efforts. MRIdian has been the subject of hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, scientific meeting abstracts and presentations. For a list of treatment centers, please visit https://viewray.com/mridian-locator.
About ViewRay
ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY), designs, manufactures, and markets the MRIdian(®) radiation therapy system. MRIdian is built upon a proprietary high-definition MR imaging system designed from the ground up to address the unique challenges and clinical workflow for advanced radiation oncology. Unlike MR systems used in diagnostic radiology, MRIdian's high-definition MR was purpose built to address specific challenges, including beam distortion, skin toxicity, and other concerns that potentially may arise when high magnetic fields interact with radiation beams. ViewRay and MRIdian are registered trademarks of ViewRay, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the rate of new orders, upgrades, and installations, ViewRay's anticipated future operating and financial performance, and ViewRay's conference calls to discuss its quarterly results. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to commercialize MRIdian Linac System, demand for ViewRay's products, the ability to convert backlog into revenue, the timing of delivery of ViewRay's products, the timing, length, and severity of the recent COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, including its impacts across our businesses on demand, operations and our global supply chains, the results and other uncertainties associated with clinical trials, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to pursue ViewRay's business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies, competition in the industry in which ViewRay operates, and overall market conditions. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to ViewRay's business in general, see ViewRay's current and future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as updated periodically with the company's other filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and ViewRay assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
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SOURCE ViewRay, Inc.
