The first patient was treated with TomoTherapy technology at Addenbrooke’s on Oct. 31, 2007. After only six months, Addenbrooke’s decided that they needed a second Hi·Art treatment system, mainly due to the quality of treatment they could then offer to more cancer patients.
Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is locally funding the second machine. This prestigious procurement is the first order to be made under the new National Framework Agreement for Radiotherapy Equipment through NHS Supply Chain, an organization created for the benefit of NHS trusts, hospitals and other healthcare organizations.
Dr Neil Burnet, Lead Clinical Oncologist for the TomoTherapy project at Addenbrooke’s comments: “The TomoTherapy project here has been an enormous success, particularly due to the team that we have been able to establish. TomoTherapy has proved a highly efficient solution for daily image-guided radiotherapy with positional correction, and the delivery of sophisticated treatment plans using high quality, intensity-modulated radiotherapy… We are delighted that we will soon double our capacity so that these technologies can be offered to more patients.”
TomoTherapy technology is developed and manufactured by TomoTherapy Inc. and is supplied in the UK by Oncology Systems Limited based in Shrewsbury, England.
Says Julie Mead, Clinical Advisor and Director at Oncology Systems: “This is the strongest commendation of TomoTherapy technology possible. Creating a clinical-business case for new, ‘high end’ equipment in the NHS, without any financial reimbursement, is always a challenge. The fact that Addenbrooke’s so quickly decided to install their second TomoTherapy unit, and from local funding, is a testament to their belief in this technology, which not only offers the highest quality of treatment for significant cohorts of patients, but also a very cost-effective way of introducing advanced image guided and intensity modulated radiotherapy.”
“We are very pleased that, after an objective clinical evaluation of the technology, Addenbrooke’s has chosen to install a second Hi·Art system,” says Fred Robertson, TomoTherapy CEO. “We look forward to partnering with Addenbrooke’s to broaden their radiotherapy reach in 2009.”
About Oncology Systems Limited
Oncology Systems Limited (OSL), is a privately owned limited company based in Shrewsbury, England. OSL is an exclusive supplier of radiation therapy technology to the UK and Ireland. It distributes the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® cancer treatment technology to the UK’s NHS and private radiotherapy facilities, and to both public and private providers in the Republic of Ireland.
TomoTherapy Incorporated has developed, markets and sells the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® treatment system, an advanced radiation therapy system for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers. The Hi·Art treatment system combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. The company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO.
