"We will get to break even on the fourth quarter of this calendar year," Robertson said. "The Accuray scale and expertise will help us move faster."

Accuray said they would be able to help service linear accelerator parts, another issue for the Hi-Art system. Accuray said it has expertise in the field after its approximately $8.3 million purchase of American Science and Engineering, Inc.'s linear accelerator manufacturing facilities in Mountain View, Calif in 2004.

"We have one of the strongest teams in the world in linear accelerator manufacture," he said.

New technology

As for what else lies ahead for the two companies, both Robertson and Thomson are tight-lipped. Both men said that aspects of the deal will be revealed once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings are completed in the near future.

Among the unknowns is the fate of TomoTherapy's Madison headquarters. However, Thomson said Accuray was committed to maintaining a "presence" there but that the details still had to be worked out.

"We recognize the value of the academic relationship they have locally as well as the workforce itself," Thomson said. "We're definitely committed to maintaining a significant employee presence there."

University of Wisconsin-Madison said TomoTherapy employed 350 of its global 650 employees locally.

Accuray said it expects TomoTherapy to be profitable for the company starting July 2012.

"Last year's history shows the companies were approximately equal in annual revenue. The implication is if they had already been operating as one company, revenue would have doubled where it is today," he added. The predicted combined revenue for the companies is around $400 million.

Thomson also hinted at areas where they could collaborate technologically. For CyberKnife, Accuray makes a solution that tracks tumor movement as the patient breathes, known as motion management.

"Now that type of capability, if that were built into the TomoTherapy product line with its dose sculpting, I think that would be a terrific enhancement," he said.

The CyberKnife was developed in 1987 at Stanford University; it received its first U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in 1999. TomoTherapy, which makes a computed tomography-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy system, was founded in 1997.

Accuray's stock fell 3.85 percent and closed at $8.50 Wednesday. TomoTherapy fell about 1 percent and closed at $4.47.

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