BLOOMINGTON, Ind., U.S.A. and LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE, Belgium - ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure) and Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA) announced today that IBA has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of a new generation of patient positioning system (PPS). The robotic system is designed for positioning patients for proton therapy, an alternative to standard radiation for patients with cancer. The PPS was developed by ProCure and IBA in collaboration with Forte Automation Systems, Inc., Rockford, Ill. The first clinical installation will be at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City, scheduled to open this summer.

"In the use of proton therapy and other forms of radiation therapy for cancer treatment, the movement of the patient must be precisely controlled to accurately target the tumor in order to achieve the maximum therapeutic dose and avoid harm to healthy tissues surrounding the tumor," said Niek Schreuder, senior vice president of medical physics and technology, ProCure, and the principal designer of the device.

"This new robotic PPS is a cost-effective, custom designed medical robot under computer control that decreases the time needed to position patients for proton treatments. The new PPS has the advantages of being more user-friendly and flexible, with a greater freedom of motion than currently available systems," Schreuder said.
The basic configuration of the robotic PPS is a Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA). It combines commercially available robotic sub-systems, which makes it cost-effective and easy to maintain, with custom designed arms to allow for the specific needs of patient positioning in proton therapy. A unique dual coupler system is attached at the end of the wrist of the robot arm that is used to attach different devices to the PPS, such as a patient table or chair, or a test phantom. The device employs safe robotic technology that meets the standards of the Robotics Industry Association (RIA).

Although industrial robots have been used in radiation therapy treatment in the past, this new generation device is the first PPS to be introduced combines the flexibility and accuracy needed for optimal targeting of the treatment site with maximum clinical versatility and ease-of-use. Some specific advantages and unique design elements of the PPS compared to earlier generations include:

-A significant increase of the clinically usable area of the proton therapy treatment room. This larger work envelope also makes it suitable for image-guided proton therapy in combination with 3D imaging capability in the treatment room

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