TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ: TOMO) announced today the availability of the industry's first relocatable radiation therapy solution -- TomoMobile™ -- which is designed to quickly and cost-effectively bring cutting-edge radiation therapy solutions to patients in underserved and rural markets.
The TomoMobile solution consists of a standard TomoTherapy® radiation therapy system housed in a custom-designed movable coach that replicates the environment of a conventional treatment vault. The integrated mobile unit enables TomoTherapy customers to begin treating patients during construction of a new facility, in advance of system installation, to alleviate temporary backlogs or for a permanent placement in centers that are unable to expand their facility.
Artesian Cancer Center of Muskogee in Oklahoma will become the first TomoTherapy customer to utilize the TomoMobile solution for providing patient treatments. The solution will be on display in booth 1881 during the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) being held November 1-5, 2009, in Chicago.
Artesian Cancer Centers, which operates three additional TomoTherapy treatment centers across Oklahoma, will use the TomoTherapy system within a relocatable coach to begin treating patients in Muskogee while it constructs a new medical office building during the next 10 to 12 months. Once the permanent TomoTherapy system is operational at that facility, Artesian plans to transport its TomoMobile solution to another location where radiation therapy services are needed.
"We saw an immediate need for high quality radiation therapy services in Muskogee, but knew we would have to delay offering TomoTherapy for almost a year until our new cancer center was built," said Derek Prentice, president and CEO of DMP Imaging, developer of Artesian Cancer Center of Muskogee. "TomoMobile allows us to accelerate the process significantly. In addition, it will allow us to confirm viability of these services in the market and speed our ability to generate revenue, perhaps to the point where we can utilize cash flow from the mobile unit to fund the purchase of our permanent TomoTherapy system."