The BayCare Proton Center has treated its first patient with upright proton therapy, marking an important milestone in its mission to bring advanced cancer care closer to the communities it serves.

The proton therapy treatment was delivered using the MEVION S250-FIT, Mevion Medical Systems' compact proton therapy system, integrated with Marie, Leo Cancer Care's upright patient positioning and CT imaging solution. The BayCare Proton Center, located at the Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy Center on the campus of St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, FL, is the second clinical site in the world to offer upright proton therapy using the combined technologies.

BayCare's proton therapy solution is designed around an ultra-compact, fixed-beam proton accelerator combined with a rotational, upright, patient chair which fit inside a typical linear accelerator vault, offering hospitals a different approach to introducing proton therapy without the infrastructure traditionally associated with large, gantry-based proton installations.

Integrated with the MEVION S250-FIT, Marie changes another fundamental aspect of the traditional proton therapy environment: how the patient is positioned for treatment. Rather than positioning the patient horizontally on a conventional treatment table, Marie enables patients to be positioned upright, either seated or perched, with integrated upright fan-beam CT imaging supporting the treatment workflow. This approach is designed to create a more patient-centered treatment experience, while also improving the working environment for radiation therapists by enabling face-to-face interaction with patients during positioning and treatment. Treatment plans are created using RaySearch Laboratories' comprehensive treatment planning system, RayStation.

"Treating the first patient on our innovative proton therapy system marks a transformational milestone for BayCare Cancer Institute and, most importantly, for the patients and communities we serve," said John Greskovich, MD, Medical Director of the BayCare Department of Radiation Oncology. "Our patients In West Central Florida can now access proton therapy locally, reducing the need to travel further from home to receive this advanced form of cancer treatment."

"BayCare reaching this milestone is about much more than treating a first patient. It demonstrates what becomes possible when we rethink both the size of the proton therapy system and the way we position the patient," said Stephen Towe, CEO of Leo Cancer Care. "Together with Mevion, we are helping create a model that can bring advanced, patient-centered proton therapy into more hospitals and closer to the communities they serve."

"We designed the MEVION S250-FIT to challenge the traditional infrastructure requirements of proton therapy and make it possible for more hospitals," said Tina Yu, PhD, President and CEO of Mevion Medical Systems. "Seeing BayCare bring the FIT system into clinical use in a standard LINAC-sized vault, with Leo Cancer Care's Marie integrated, shows what compact proton therapy with upright treatment can deliver."