IMRIS Inc.announced that they have been allowed the U.S. patent for MR Guided Radiation Therapy involving the combination of radiation therapy and a moveable magnet system. In addition, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recently cleared the first of several products in its MR Guided Radiation Therapy business.
The recently cleared MR imaging radiation oncology package is for pelvic, brain, and head and neck imaging. The package includes MRI coil sets and a specialized imaging tabletop intended for physicians conducting diagnostic MR imaging for radiation therapy treatment planning and simulation.
“We are on our way to building our image guided radiation therapy business and producing essential tools for enhancing MR image targeting in cancer treatments to support radiotherapy utilized by half of all U.S. cancer patients each year,” said David Graves, Chairman and CEO, IMRIS. "This patent is significant. MR is the gold standard in soft tissue imaging accuracy. Ultimately, we are working to improve treatment targeting so patients in the future may have fewer radiation sessions and experience less damage to healthy tissue adjacent to the target."
The oncology package is the first regulatory submission IMRIS filed with the FDA for products related to image guided radiation therapy systems.