ProTom Achieves Scheduled Milestone of Beam at Gantry Room Isocenter

FLOWER MOUND, Texas & FLINT, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Testing of a compact cancer-treatment technology from ProTom International, Inc. (“ProTom”) demonstrated last week that the system achieves its design specification: delivering high-energy protons to isocenter at a beam intensity sufficient for standard clinical practice. The ProTom technical team measured stable and reproducible performance on the Radiance 330® Proton Therapy System at the McLaren Proton Therapy Center (“MPTC”) in Flint, Michigan.

This is the first time that ProTom has tested its compact system’s gantry beam optics design. “Measuring high beam intensities at isocenter indicates well-functioning integration among various subsystems of the Radiance 330 necessary for clinical implementation,” said Vahagn Nazaryan, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Physics for ProTom. “We delivered beam through the gantry and nozzle in the first of three gantry treatment rooms as part of validation and verification of our technical design,” stated Dr. Nazaryan. “We are pleased that the system performed as designed and quickly achieved a dose rate sufficient for standard clinical practice.”

“We are excited by the results of successful beam transport testing through our first gantry treatment room: these results were independently reproduced by our clinical physics team,” said Sung Park, Ph.D., Chief Physicist for McLaren Cancer Institute.

Earlier in the summer, ProTom installed a new custom-designed radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) proton linac injector from AccSys Technology Inc. This upgrade has significantly improved accelerated proton beam intensities. The RFQ upgrade resulted in an increase in injection intensity yielding in excess of several times the number of protons per cycle accelerated in the synchrotron, with further tuning and optimization ongoing at McLaren.

“Both the ProTom and McLaren teams are to be commended for achieving this very significant result, which continues to validate that the system is performing as it was designed,” said ProTom CEO Stephen L. Spotts. “ProTom is focused on final validation and testing in order to secure all regulatory clearances necessary for clinical operation.” Spotts also noted, “It is my firm belief that our Radiance 330 system is not only the most advanced proton beam scanning system available but the most economical solution as well.“

About ProTom International, Inc.

ProTom International, Inc. is a medical device company committed to a new generation of financially viable proton radiotherapy centers that are easier to implement and equipped with advanced, compact technology. The Radiance 330 Proton therapy system makes community-based proton therapy truly accessible by reducing cost and technology barriers inherent with previous generations of equipment. To find out more about the future of proton therapy, visit us at www.protominternational.com.

About McLaren Health Care Corporation

Recognized by Verispan as one of the top Integrated Health Networks in the nation, McLaren Health Care includes more than 150 locations, 15,000 employees and over 10,000 network physicians. It includes nine wholly-owned regional hospitals: McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint; Lapeer Regional Medical Center; Ingham Regional Medical Center and Ingham Regional Orthopedic Hospital in Lansing; Bay Regional Medical Center and Bay Special Care Hospital in Bay City; Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center in Mount Clemens; Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mt. Pleasant and POH Regional Medical Center in Pontiac. McLaren Homecare Group, an award-winning home health provider, and McLaren Health Plan, a top-rated commercial and Medicaid HMO are also a part of the system. To find out more about how we’re changing the future of health care, visit www.mclaren.org.

* The Radiance 330 Proton Therapy System has not been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial distribution in the U.S. at this time.

Contact:
ProTom International
Stephen Sledge, 904-502-4032
ssledge@protominternational.com
or
McLaren Health Care
Kevin Tompkins, 810-342-1173
KevinTo@mclaren.org
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CPAC Announces First Letter of Intent After Technical Breakthrough

Livermore, Calif. – November 13, 2012 – Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC) announced today that following a series of recent technical breakthroughs on a prototype DWA test accelerator, it has received a letter of intent for delivery of one of its first proton therapy systems to Southwest Oncology Centers, a renowned radiation oncology facility in the United States.

CPAC’s first clinical system will be a single room, fixed scanning beam, 50-150 MeV system that is upgradeable to 215 MeV. It will be intended for installation in existing treatment facilities and will fit in a space not much larger than existing linear accelerators with relatively small retrofits. CPAC plans to release the detailed system specifications in the coming months.

“Four years ago we were first introduced to CPAC and its unique compact, proton beam accelerator. A compact, cost effective proton solution with extremely low neutron contamination will allow community based cancer centers to offer proton treatments to a larger patient population,” according to Dr. Gordon L. Grado, Medical Director of Southwest Oncology Centers in Arizona, and the Wuertele Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Minnesota. “The high costs of Proton Centers, typically between $100 Million and $200 Million dollars are a reason for the limited number of treatment facilities in the United States. This limits the number of cancer patients that can take advantage of this highly desirable cutting edge technology. Greater access to this technology will allow patients to remain closer to their family and friends as they battle cancer. The CPAC’s DWA system will allow us to provide even greater treatment options for both the early and advanced cancer patients and tumor challenges that we see at all of our facilities.”

Proton therapy is a particularly compelling treatment for pediatric patients and some hard-to-treat cancers, such as those requiring high doses of radiation or tumors that are close to sensitive structures. Because of the cost and size of proton therapy systems, this type of therapy has been limited to approximately 30 centers around the world. With its pioneering work on developing a compact proton accelerator, CPAC aims to make this treatment accessible to every cancer center.

CPAC’s new proton therapy system employs a very compact accelerator based on the Dielectric Wall Accelerator (DWA) technology developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The prototype accelerator in operation at the CPAC facility has recently achieved an accelerating gradient approaching 20 million electron volts per meter (MeV/m).

“This gradient is comparable to those achieved by the most advanced medical accelerator devices today,” said Anthony Zografos, Ph.D., CPAC’s Chief Operating Officer. “In addition, we have developed new, breakthrough technology for the DWA that will remove the stress from critical system components and allow even higher accelerating gradients. This proprietary technology, now being incorporated into the prototype system is a major step towards achieving 25 MeV/m in the coming weeks and is a significant step toward reaching 35 MeV/m. We have already demonstrated some highly desirable clinical features, unique to our device, such as shot-to-shot control of proton energy, dose rate and spot size which greatly facilitate the delivery of the most advanced form of proton therapy, Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy.”

About Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC)
Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC) is an independent privately held corporation in the proton therapy system business. The company is developing a very compact proton therapy system powered by the dielectric-wall accelerator (DWA). For more information, visit www.CPAC.pro.

Media Contact:
Anthony Zografos
Chief Operating Officer
925-583-2702
azografos@cpac.pro
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ProNova: Proton Therapy Treatment & Innovation

ProNova is redefining the future of cancer treatment by delivering a lower-cost, smaller, lighter and more energy efficient proton therapy solution without sacrificing today’s most important clinical capabilities.
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