Press releases

RaySearch and IBA to increase proton therapy precision

Collaboration agreement signed on the development of proton treatment planning system

RaySearch Laboratories AB and IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), the global high-tech leaders in next generation treatment planning software and proton therapy technology are pleased to announce a collaboration agreement to further develop the tools that enable clinicians to better leverage the treatment precision of proton therapy.

This collaboration aims at enhancing the tools in RaySearch’s treatment planning system RayStation® for proton treatment modalities (i.e. Double Scattering, Uniform Scanning, and Pencil Beam Scanning). It will enable clinicians worldwide to better leverage the power of IBA’s Pencil Beam Scanning in a large variety of clinical conditions.

Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA, said: “We understand that efficient and robust treatment planning solutions are key for the development of proton therapy in general and of Pencil Beam Scanning in particular. In this matter, IBA’s philosophy is to provide its clinical partners with the best software options through an open architecture. Today we are proud to be able to call RaySearch a partner and add its solutions to our portfolio. This collaboration will further improve proton treatment delivery to reduce side effects and increase quality of cancer care.”

Johan Löf, President and CEO of RaySearch Laboratories AB added: “Proton therapy is a prioritized area for us so we are of course delighted to collaborate with the leading hardware manufacturer in this field. We will now work closely together to further refine the tools in RayStation® for planning proton treatments that are delivered with IBA hardware. Together we will be able to realize the full potential of proton therapy and offer unmatched treatment quality to the clinics and their patients. I believe that this will be highly appreciated by existing RayStation® customers such as WPE in Essen, Germany, as well as other proton centers around the globe.”

IBA and RaySearch are committed to making Proton Therapy, the most accurate cancer treatment, available worldwide. IBA is the only supplier to have multiple centers treating cancer patients with Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS), the most precise form of Proton Therapy. As of today, IBA teams successfully installed PBS at Massachusetts General Hospital Burr Proton Therapy Center, Boston, MA, USA, University of Pennsylvania Health System Roberts Proton Therapy Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA, CDH Procure’s Proton Therapy Center, Chicago area, USA and Proton Therapy Center, Prague, Czech Republic. These centers are using PBS daily in clinical treatments.

PBS is under installation in 5 more IBA centers. Altogether, 20 IBA centers will be treating with PBS within 2 years.

PBS enables Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT), allowing clinicians to precisely target a cancerous tumor by controlling both the intensity and the spatial distribution of the dose to the millimeter.

The Proton Beam Design module in RaySearch’s treatment planning system RayStation® already contains tools for treatment planning of double scattered and uniformly scanned protons, such as a clinically approved Pencil Beam dose engine and automatic generation of treat-and-protect beams. With input from IBA, RaySearch will now expand the module with, for example, tools for Pencil Beam Scanning techniques and Monte Carlo dose calculations.

About Proton Therapy
Proton therapy is increasingly considered the most advanced and targeted cancer treatment due to its superior dose distribution and fewer side effects. Protons deposit the majority of their effective energy within a precisely controlled range and shape, directly within the tumor and sparing healthy surrounding tissue.
As access to proton therapy increases in Europe and across the world, IBA continues to demonstrate compassionate innovations with more patient-friendly treatment rooms and more precise therapies. IBA proton therapy systems account for more than half of the world’s clinically based proton therapy facilities. To date they include 13 operational proton therapy centers (35 treatment rooms) worldwide, and 12 more centers in development (adding 23 treatment rooms).

About IBA
IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), is a cancer diagnostics and treatment company and the worldwide technology leader in the field of proton therapy. The Company’s expertise lies in the development of next generation proton therapy technologies and radiopharmaceuticals that provide oncology care providers with premium quality services and equipment, including IBA’s leading fully integrated IntegraLab® radiopharmacy system, and Dosimetry advanced solutions for Quality Assurance of medical equipment and increased patient safety. Headquartered in Belgium and employing more than 1,200 people worldwide, IBA currently has installed systems across Europe and the US and is expanding into emerging markets. The Company is focused on building sustainable global growth for investors, providing solutions in the fight against cancer. IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT. (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB) and more information can be found at: www.iba-worldwide.com.

About RayStation®
RayStation® integrates all RaySearch’s advanced treatment planning solutions into a flexible treatment planning system. It combines unique features such as multi-criteria optimization tools with full support for 4D adaptive radiation therapy. It also includes functionality such as RaySearch’s market-leading algorithms for IMRT and VMAT optimization and highly accurate dose engines for photon, electron and proton therapy. The system is built on the latest software architecture and has a graphical user interface offering state-of-the-art usability.

About RaySearch
RaySearch Laboratories is a medical technology company that develops advanced software solutions for improved radiation therapy of cancer. RaySearch’s products are mainly sold through license agreements with leading partners such as Philips, Nucletron, IBA Dosimetry, Varian and Accuray. To date, 15 products have been launched through partners and RaySearch’s software is used at over 2,000 clinics in more than 30 countries. In addition, RaySearch offers the proprietary treatment planning system RayStation® directly to clinics. RaySearch was founded in 2000 as a spin-off from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the company is listed in the Small Cap segment on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm.

For more information about RaySearch, visit www.raysearchlabs.com

    
For further information, please contact

Olivier de Sadeleer, Marketing manager, IBA
Telephone: +32 10 203 342
Olivier.deSadeleer@iba-group.com

Johan Löf, President and CEO, RaySearch Laboratories AB
Telephone: +46 (0)8-545 061 30
johan.lof@raysearchlabs.com