ViewRay has announced that the world's first patients treated using its ViewRay system, an MRI-guided radiation therapy system at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
According to the company, the ViewRay system provides a patented combination of simultaneous radiation therapy delivery and continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the treatment of cancer.
The ViewRay system provides continuous soft-tissue imaging during radiation therapy using MRI-guidance, so that clinicians are able to see exactly where the radiation dose is being delivered and adapt to changes in the patient’s anatomy.
One of the initial treatments being delivered on the ViewRay system is stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung cancer.
SBRT is a type of radiation therapy in which a few very high doses of radiation are delivered to small, well-defined tumors to kill cancer cells while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy organs.
ViewRay president and CEO Chris A Raanes said treating patients is a key milestone for ViewRay, but more importantly, it marks a significant advance in cancer care.
"MRI-guided radiation therapy is no longer a research quest; today it has become real and offers physicians a new and powerful weapon for treating cancer," Raanes added.