STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- RaySearch Laboratories AB announce that a letter of intent has been signed with Scanditronix-Wellhofer to enter into a long-term development and license agreement regarding new products for quality assurance of IMRT. RaySearch is a world leader in treatment planning for IMRT and in advanced software applications for radiation therapy of cancer. Scanditronix-Wellhofer is a world leader in advanced dosimetry and quality assurance solutions for clinical and industrial radiation applications.
Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced method for radiation therapy of cancer. IMRT allows higher radiation doses to be delivered to the tumor than what is possible with a conventional treatment, and at the same time reduces the risks for side effects in surrounding healthy tissue. Since IMRT treatments are complex in nature, thorough quality assurance is required to minimize deviations between the planned radiation dose distribution and the dose that is actually delivered to the patient. In the quality assurance procedure, the treatment beams' true intensity distributions are measured against the intensity distributions calculated in the treatment planning system to determine if deviations are within the defined tolerance levels. Currently, this is a highly time- and resource-consuming task for the radiation therapy clinics.
Within the framework of this cooperation, RaySearch will develop advanced software that supports and improves the efficiency of quality assurance of IMRT. Scanditronix-Wellhofer will further develop its dosimetry platform to facilitate in a more refined manner the determination of the beam's physical properties and to achieve more rapid and accurate measurements. By combining RaySearch's dose calculation algorithms and visualization framework with Scanditronix-Wellhofer's dosimetry competence and innovative detector technology and software, an effective and user-friendly tool is created for automated quality assurance of advanced radiation therapy.
"The number of cancer treatments based on IMRT is rapidly increasing. It is our continuous strive to provide our global customer base with first-class dosimetry solutions that enable the clinics to cope with increasing patient throughput demand, yet at highest treatment accuracy and reliability standards. The specific competence in dose calculation and optimization algorithms makes RaySearch Laboratories AB an optimal partner for bringing new, leading edge technologies in the field of IMRT quality assurance to the market." says Rob Plompen, President and CEO of Scanditronix-Wellhofer.
"It is very satisfying that we have signed a letter of intent with Scanditronix-Wellhofer, which is the leader in the market for dosimetry solutions," says Johan Lof, President and CEO of RaySearch Laboratories AB.
Together, we will be able to create effective and highly competitive systems for automated quality assurance of IMRT. Currently, there is a great need in the clinics for new solutions in this area, since quality assurance demands substantial personnel resources. This is due primarily to the lack of effective tools and standardized processes. Scanditronix-Wellhofer is in the absolute forefront of detector technology and has an installed base within a market segment to which we previously did not have access. Therefore, they are a very suitable partner to us and a future agreement will mean a natural and exciting expansion of RaySearch's product portfolio."
About RaySearch
RaySearch develops and sells software for radiation therapy of cancer. The products are specially developed to optimize radiation therapy and the purpose is to adapt the radiation dose to the shape of the tumor, which allows high doses to be delivered to the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding healthy tissue.
RaySearch, a spin-off from Karolinska Institute, was formed in 2000. RaySearch has sold its product RayOptimizer to more than 800 hospitals around the world through a licensing agreement with Philips, and thereby more than one hundred thousand patients have received improved radiation therapy.
RaySearch was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange O-List in November 2003. As of July 1, 2005, RaySearch is listed on the Attract40 segment of the O-List of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Sales of the products RayBiology and RayMachine began in 2004. The partnership with Philips continues and RaySearch signed a licensing agreement with Nucletron at the beginning of 2004. The latter agreement made RaySearch's products available to a large number of new clinics worldwide and, consequently, increased the number of potential end customers sharply. Delivery to clinics of OM-Optimizer, the first product based on the partnership with Nucletron, began in April 2005. In May 2005, RaySearch signed a letter of intent with Philips for development of products within adaptive radiation therapy. RaySearch is based in Stockholm and currently has 28 employees.
Company's website: www.raysearchlabs.com
About Scanditronix-Wellhofer / IBA With more than 30 years experience, Scanditronix-Wellhofer provides sophisticated and customized high-end dosimetry and quality assurance solutions for use in hospitals and by industry partners across the world. Access to national and international research partners, as well as in-house research and design activities, are the foundation of successful and reliable products for a wide range of dosimetry applications in radiation therapy and radiodiagnostics.
Company's website: www.scanditronix-wellhofer.com
Scanditronix-Wellhofer is a fully owned subsidiary of the Belgium IBA group. IBA delivers efficient, dependable solutions of a unique precision in the fields of cancer diagnosis and therapy. IBA provides radiopharmaceutical products, notably in the field of Positron Emission Tomography. The company also offers innovative responses to improve the efficacy, hygiene and safety of everyday life through sterilization and ionization solutions. IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT, is integrated into the NextEconomy market segment and belongs to BelSmall index. Company's website: www.iba-worldwide.com
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://wpy.waymaker.net/client/waymaker1/WOLReleaseFile.aspx?id=148880&fn=wkr0001.pdf