CLEVELAND, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinicians interested in learning more about MRI-guided radiation therapy can attend a day-long symposium on Friday, November 14, 2019 in Rome to understand the strategic, economic, clinical and technical aspects of starting an MR-image guided radiation therapy program. The Symposium will feature presentations from various experts in MRI-guided radiation therapy and an update on the Health Economics in Radiation Oncology Project (HERO), titled "Access to Innovative Radiotherapy: How to Make it Happen from an Economic Perspective," given by co-chair and past president of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), Professor Yolande Lievens.

MRI-guided radiation therapy combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with radiation delivery to bring soft-tissue visibility to the treatment of cancer. ViewRay's MRIdian became the world's first MRI-guided radiation therapy system with patient treatments commencing in 2014. With five years of clinical usage, MRIdian represents a new paradigm in radiation oncology allowing clinicians to visualize, adapt, and target using diagnostic-quality anatomical detail that's simply unavailable with conventional IGRT technologies.

The Symposium, titled "Five Years & Counting: Clinical Experience on MRIdian," will cover current and future applications for MRI-guided radiation therapy including on-table adaptive therapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Presentations will also cover physics considerations, functional imaging, ongoing studies and recent clinical findings. The event will conclude with a tour of the MRIdian MRI-guided Radiation Therapy System at Gemelli ART.

"We look forward to welcoming clinicians from around the world to Rome to learn more about the ground-breaking role of MRI-guided radiation therapy in improving cancer care," said Professor Vincenzo Valentini, M.D., Professor of Radiation Oncology and Chair of the Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Hematology Department at the Gemelli ART, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.Gemelli IRCCS in Rome. "We're bringing together some of the field's foremost experts to discuss all facets of MRI-guided radiation therapy from the economics and implementation to quality assurance and clinical use. In a single day, attendees will gather all the information, answers and best practices they'd need in order to successfully launch an MRI-guided radiation therapy program."

Presentations featured in the Symposium agenda include:

Welcome Remarks
Vincenzo Valentini, M.D., Gemelli ART, Rome, Italy
MR-Guided RT Primer (The MRIdian Advantage)
Martin Fuss, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, ViewRay
Considerations and Challenges of MR-Guided RT (Physics)
Kristian Boye Ph.D., Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
On-Table Adaptive MR Image-Guided RT: Considerations for QA
Lorenzo Placidi, medical physicist, Gemelli ART, Rome, Italy
MR-Guided Renal Cell Cancer SBRT
Anna Bruynzeel, M.D., Ph.D., Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands
Clinical Studies/Clinical Research Overview
Paul Strong, Ph.D., Senior Director, Medical Affairs, ViewRay
Access to Innovative Radiotherapy: How to Make it Happen from an Economic Perspective
Yolande Lievens, M.D., Ph.D., Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium, ESTRO-HERO
On-Table Adaptive MR-Guided SBRT: Clinical Experience at Gemelli
Luca Boldrini, M.D., Gemelli ART, Rome, Italy
Decision Making Process Towards MRIdian
Pascal Fenoglietto, M.D., Institut du Cancer Montpellier (ICM)
MR-Guided SBRT, Results Phase 2: Prostate SMART study (Amsterdam UMC Experience)
Frank Lagerwaard, M.D., Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands
Closing Remarks
Piercarlo Gentile, M.D., San Pietro Fatebenefratelli UPMC, Rome, Italy
Please note, this event is intended for medical professionals only, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists and hospital administrators.


About ViewRay
ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY), designs, manufactures and markets the MRIdian® radiation therapy system. MRIdian is built upon a proprietary high-definition MR imaging system designed from the ground up to address the unique challenges and clinical workflow for advanced radiation oncology. Unlike MR systems used in diagnostic radiology, MRIdian's high-definition MR was purpose built to address specific challenges, including beam distortion, skin toxicity, and other concerns that potentially may arise when high magnetic fields interact with radiation beams. ViewRay and MRIdian are registered trademarks of ViewRay, Inc.


SOURCE ViewRay, Inc.