Mevion Brings Proton Therapy to Central Florida

Mother with newborn son is the first patient treated with proton
therapy at UF Health Cancer Center – Orlando Health

LITTLETON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#ProtonTherapy—Mevion
Medical Systems is celebrating the first patient treated on its
newest MEVION S250 proton therapy system. Today, 36-year-old Rhea
Birusingh, a new mother with a brain tumor near her right eye,
successfully received proton therapy at the Marjorie and Leonard
Williams Center for Proton Therapy at UF Health
Cancer Center – Orlando Health. Birusingh’s son Zane was
born on February 18, and the opening of the first proton therapy center
in Central Florida means she didn’t have to travel far from home to
receive her care.

“I am incredibly grateful and excited that I can receive this treatment,
by an expert team of professionals, right here in Central Florida where
I live,” said Birusingh. “As a mother of a newborn baby, this allows me
the opportunity to be treated without leaving my family and to treat
this tumor effectively so that I get to savor these precious moments
with my son.”

“The MEVION S250 system is ideal for treating complex tumors located
near critical and sensitive anatomy, such as the cavernous sinus
meningioma that is invading Rhea’s left optical structures space,” said
Omar Zeidan, Ph.D., chief of proton therapy physics at Orlando Health.
“Having access to Mevion’s advanced proton therapy further cements
Orlando Health as a national leader in cancer care, and I anticipate
improved outcomes through the use of proton therapy for this patient and
many others.”

Because of its incredible accuracy, the MEVION S250 can effectively
treat complex tumors in many sensitive locations, such as near the
breast, heart, spine, lungs or eye. Proton therapy is also frequently
used to treat pediatric patients in order to reduce radiation exposure
to their growing bodies.

“Mevion’s mission is to improve access to proton therapy for patients
like Rhea, so I am ecstatic that proton therapy has arrived in Central
Florida in time to allow Rhea to be treated without having to travel a
great distance away from her home and her new son,” said Joseph K.
Jachinowski, president and chief executive officer of Mevion Medical
Systems. “This year, we expect to help even more patients by doubling
the number of clinically operational MEVION S250 proton therapy systems.
This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the Mevion team
and to the excitement surrounding the outstanding results institutions
are achieving with their MEVION S250 systems.”

The MEVION S250 is an advanced compact proton therapy system with a
revolutionary design that operates similar to a linear accelerator. In
fact, more NCI-Designated Cancer Centers choose Mevion than any other
proton therapy system because of Mevion’s clinical capabilities,
extraordinarily low capital and operating costs and industry-leading
ramp-up time, uptime and patient throughput. With the opening of the
Orlando system, four MEVION S250 proton therapy systems are clinically
operational. Two additional sites are expected to start receiving
patients in the next six months.

About Mevion Medical Systems

Mevion Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of proton therapy
systems for use in radiation treatment for cancer patients. Mevion is
privately held and based in Littleton, Massachusetts, with international
offices in the United Kingdom and Japan and a joint venture in China.
For more information, please visit www.mevion.com.

About the MEVION S250 Series

The MEVION S250 Series is elegantly designed to deliver high-powered,
efficient proton therapy treatments. Built upon the world’s only
gantry-mounted proton accelerator and benefitting from Mevion’s patented
direct beam technology, the MEVION S250 Series delivers on the
therapeutic promise of proton therapy while enhancing beam quality,
stability and uptime. The result is reduced system complexity, higher
reliability and throughput, and lower capital and operating costs—making
the MEVION S250 Series a compelling, financially viable solution for all
cancer centers. The Series is comprised of:

• MEVION S250, offering highly stable, next-generation volumetric
  delivery capabilities
• MEVION S250i with HYPERSCAN technology, overcoming pencil beam
  scanning uncertainties by delivering robust Intensity Modulated Proton
  Therapy treatment at hyper-speed
• MEVION S250mx, making proton therapy fully scalable, with two,
  three and four room designs that are inherently redundant and
  guarantee 100 percent facility uptime

Contacts

Mevion Medical Systems
Tom Langford, 617-761-6775
tom.langford@fkhealth.com
Please
visit Orlando Health’s online
newsroom for b-roll and photographs related to this story.