Mevion Medical Systems Brings Proton Therapy To Central Florida

LITTLETON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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