SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A revolutionary, user-friendly radiation delivery system that focuses radiation directly on a tumor while the patient is in surgery, has become a vital tool for a growing number of radiation oncologists.
The Mobetron(R) constitutes a major advantage over the current method in which the sedated, still surgically open, patient is wheeled out of the operating room, down hospital corridors and elevators to a separate, shielded radiation suite, and then returned to the OR.
The Mobetron is the first portable delivery system for Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), and was conceived, developed, and is being sold by IntraOp Medical Corporation.
IORT is one of the most promising techniques in cancer treatment. It involves direct application of radiation to the malignant tumor or tumor bed during surgery. Studies have shown a single two-minute IORT treatment can eliminate several weeks of conventional radiation therapy, both pre- and post- operatively.
The system is the brainchild of the late Dr. Jerome Vaeth, renowned radiation oncologist and former chief of Radiation Oncology at the West Coast Cancer Foundation. The Mobetron, weighing a "mere" 2,800 pounds is mounted on wheels, so that one person can move the equipment between operating rooms or transport it between hospitals. Says Don Goer, CEO of IntraOp Medical Corporation: "The growing interest in the benefits of IORT is highly encouraging. Evidence from various clinical IORT trials here and abroad also show a reduced risk of tumor re-growth in cancer patients, leading to improved local control and survival rates. This corroborates a number of other clinical studies that show that cancer patients who receive early IORT intervention have a lower recurrence rate."
Hospitals and other facilities in the U.S. that already have the Mobetron in place include the University Hospital in Cleveland; the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; the Mayo Clinic; UC San Francisco; Methodist Hospitals of Indianapolis, and others, along with hospitals and medical centers in Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland. The system is FDA-approved in the U.S. and has received the equivalent CE Mark in Europe, JIS in Japan and the SDA in China.
Dr. Goer adds: "By making the delivery of IORT safer, easier and more convenient for virtually all forms of cancer surgery, patients, surgeons, radiation oncologists and other members of the healthcare team all benefit greatly from this new technology."
For more information on Mobetron, log on to http://www.intraopmedical.com
IntraOp Medical CorporationCONTACT: Lynn Granito, the Investor Relations Group, +1-212-825-3210, forIntraOp Medical Corporation
Web site: http://www.intraopmedical.com/
