Thursday, October 2, 2008

TomoTherapy to Pursue Development of World's First Mobile Radiation Therapy Solution

TomoTherapy Incorporated announced today that it is developing the world’s first mobile radiation therapy solution. The company plans to house its revolutionary Hi·Art® treatment system in trailers that would be available for use by TomoTherapy customers during new construction, in advance of system installation, to alleviate temporary backlogs, or as a permanent placement for centers that are unable to expand their facility. The announcement was made today at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).


For the mobile service initiative, TomoTherapy has entered into discussions with Alliance Oncology, a radiation oncology provider and a subsidiary of Alliance Imaging (NYSE: AIQ - News), a leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging services. The companies expect to work together on the development and implementation of the mobile radiation therapy service.

“We are very pleased to announce our plans to develop the world’s first mobile radiation therapy service,” said Shawn Guse, TomoTherapy’s vice president of global sales. “If successful, this will allow all radiation oncology centers to easily upgrade aging linear accelerators with no interruption in patient care. We expect that this offering will provide yet another key competitive advantage for TomoTherapy’s Hi·Art system over less integrated options and outdated system designs.”

About Alliance Imaging

Alliance Imaging is a leading national provider of shared-service and fixed-site diagnostic imaging services, based upon annual revenue and number of diagnostic imaging systems deployed. Alliance provides imaging and therapeutic services primarily to hospitals and other healthcare providers on a shared and full-time service basis, in addition to operating a growing number of fixed-site imaging centers. Alliance Imaging had 492 diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy systems, including 306 MRI systems and 83 PET or PET/CT systems, and served over 1,000 clients in 46 states at June 30, 2008. Alliance Imaging operated 89 fixed-site imaging centers (five in unconsolidated joint ventures), which includes systems installed in hospitals or other buildings on or near hospital campuses, medical groups’ offices, or medical buildings and retail sites. Alliance Imaging’s subsidiaries, Alliance Oncology and Alliance Radiosurgery, operate 18 radiation therapy centers and stereotactic radiosurgery facilities (two radiation therapy centers are in unconsolidated joint ventures) as of June 30, 2008.

About TomoTherapy Incorporated

TomoTherapy Incorporated has developed, markets and sells the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® treatment system, an advanced radiation therapy system for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers. The Hi·Art treatment system combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. The company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO.

Contact:

TomoTherapy Incorporated
Investor Contact:
Stephen C. Hathaway
Chief Financial Officer
608.824.2800
shathaway@tomotherapy.com
or
Media Contact:
Patty Kitowski
Marketing Communications Manager
608.824.2820
pkitowski@tomotherapy.com

Source: TomoTherapy Incorporated

0 comments: