Miami Cancer Institute to Acquire ViewRay’s MRIdian Linac for MRI-Guided Radiation Therapy

Miami, July 27, 2017 --

Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, announced today that it will acquire ViewRay’s MRIdian Linac System, the world’s first and only FDA-cleared MRI-guided radiation therapy system. The MRIdian system will be part of the healthcare organization’s new Miami Cancer Institute, a multidisciplinary, destination cancer center and member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. The MRIdian treatments are expected to be available for patient care in spring 2018.

Nearly two-thirds of all treated cancer patients in the United States will receive some form of radiation therapy during the course of their illness, according to estimates by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. The movement of tumors and internal organs makes precision radiation delivery a challenge, but through the use of MRI-guidance, clinicians are better able to aim radiation therapy directly at tumors while avoiding surrounding tissues.

MRIdian Linac provides a unique combination of simultaneous radiation therapy delivery and continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the treatment of cancer. Because MRI technology eliminates the radiation exposure associated with computed tomography (CT) scans, MRIdian Linac allows for continuous imaging during the delivery of radiation therapy, allowing physicians to directly view and target the tumor during treatment. MRIdian Linac also enables physicians to personalize the treatment based on changes in the shape or location of the tumor and surrounding tissues using on-table adaptive therapy.

Miami Cancer Institute welcomes the ViewRay MRIdian Linac to its already comprehensive fleet of highly sophisticated radiation delivery systems in the Department of Radiation Oncology, becoming the first in Florida to do so.

“By capitalizing on the improved soft tissue visualization and leveraging the real-time imaging capability of MR, radiation oncologists at Miami Cancer Institute will utilize this technology to target mobile tumors such as those located in the lung, liver and pancreas,” said Minesh Mehta, M.D., chief of radiation oncology at Miami Cancer Institute. “By having the ability to visualize tissues simultaneously during treatment delivery, which cannot easily be done on other radiation treatment machines, we are able to track these mobile tumors and minimize the exposure of adjacent, normal tissues through adaptive planning.”

Additionally, says Mehta, the reduction of “motion margin” will “decrease the volume of normal tissue irradiated to high doses, thereby providing an opportunity to decrease side effects.”

Due to the novelty of this technology, a number of opportunities present themselves to optimize the clinical applications of the MRIdian Linac. Clinical researchers at Miami Cancer Institute plan to investigate the impact of continuous, MRI-guided soft tissue tracking on margin reduction as well as investigate the need for adaptive radiotherapy when accounting for changes due to organ motion.

About Miami Cancer Institute

Baptist Health South Florida is developing Miami Cancer Institute into a destination cancer center known for its leading clinical care, compassionate patient experience, advanced clinical research and state-of-the-art technology – including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. To accelerate its mission of hope, caring and innovation, Miami Cancer Institute has joined the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance, a meaningful partnership that affords patients with cancer access to potential breakthrough therapies in South Florida. For more information, visit MiamiCancerInstitute.com.

Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with eight hospitals (Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Fisherman’s Community Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Mariners Hospital, South Miami Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital), nearly 50 outpatient and urgent care facilities, Baptist Health Medical Group, Baptist Health Quality Network and internationally renowned centers of excellence. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has approximately 16,000 employees and 2,300 affiliated physicians. Baptist Health South Florida has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit BaptistHealth.net and connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/BaptistHealthSF and on Twitter and Instagram @BaptistHealthSF.

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a3d8d12e-d089-415d-adad-b5b0b24c3edd

Dori Alvarez
Baptist Health South Florida 
786-527-9516
[email protected]