MEVION S250 Proton Therapy Cleared in Europe

Mevion Medical out of Littleton, MA received the European CE Mark for its MEVION S250 Proton Therapy System.  Proton therapy’s advantage over traditional radiation is that it allows for precise targeting of tumors so that energy is deposited almost exclusively at the target without damaging tissue on the way to and away from the treatment area.

The real limiting issues with proton therapy is the cost of the systems and their large size because they are powered by synchrocyclotrons.  By managing to build a compact accelerator (6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter) that can deliver protons at 250 MeV to a depth of up to 32 cm, the company believes it can bring down the cost of this technology and make it affordable to more hospitals.

Proton beam radiotherapy can accurately deliver targeted radiation doses with complete proton energy absorption at predictable tissue depth, thus allowing precise radiation delivery adjacent to critical structures and lower radiation doses to healthy structures. The availability of proton therapy has remained very limited however, due to the enormous cost, large footprint, and technical complexity of traditional proton therapy systems.

CE Marking of the MEVION S250 gives hospitals and cancer treatment centers throughout the European Union, and other regions where CE Marking is recognized, the ability to order, install, and treat patients with this revolutionary medical device.  Powered by a TriNiobium Core™, the MEVION S250 significantly reduces the cost, size and complexity of proton therapy systems to levels similar to modern X-ray radiation therapy devices, and brings accessibility, affordability and practicality to proton therapy.

Mevion is concurrently installing three MEVION S250 Proton Therapy Systems in the United States. The first site at the Siteman Cancer Center in Barnes Jewish Hospital, at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri accepted delivery of its superconducting synchrocyclotron in October of 2011 and is now producing a powerful 250 MeV energy beam.  The second and third installations at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ and Oklahoma University, OK are underway and scheduled to be completed later this year.

Product page: MEVION S250…

Press release: Mevion Medical Systems Receives CE Marking Certification for the MEVION S250 Proton Therapy System…