Radiation oncologists are now using what's sort of a GPS for the body to fight prostate cancer. Frank Fiore chose external beam radiation to fight his cancer. “The option that gave me decreased risk and flexibility, less intrusion and the best success,” he said.The Calypso 4D Localization System, is sort of a GPS for the body and not only could it be used in prostate cancer, but eventually for tracking other cancers as well. Radiation specialist Dr. Dan White said that three tiny radio transponders are implanted into the prostate prior to treatment. “Those are implanted trans-rectally by the urologist, similar to when the patient gets a biopsy,” he said.
A computer program then tracks the transponders, which shift naturally as the prostate does during treatment over time. “By knowing where it is, we can treat a smaller area, because we are not worried about missing it,” White said. This lowers the odds of damage to surrounding tissues and ups the odds of killing off the cancer. “Hopefully this will translate into us being able to give higher doses of radiation to the prostate, better tolerated by the patient and hopefully lead to higher cure rate,” the doctor said.
The Calypso 4D Localization System utilizes proprietary electromagnetic technology in conjunction with implanted Beacon electromagnetic transponders in the prostate. The system is designed to enable doctors to accurately and objectively position cancer patients for radiation therapy treatment, and then measure and monitor tumor motion during radiation therapy delivery.
Continuous knowledge of the tumor location is expected to provide greater confidence to clinicians and patients when they know that the radiation beam is always on target. Because the product platform does not require expertise in interpreting x-ray or ultrasound images, it greatly reduces the time to perform patient setup, a well-recognized bottleneck in the radiation department workflow. Calypso Medical Technologies, is a Seattle, WA based privately held medical device company founded in 2000. The Company’s proprietary tumor localization system utilizes miniaturized implanted devices (Beacon electromagnetic transponders) to continuously, accurately, and objectively pinpoint the location of tumors for improved accuracy in radiation therapy. Calypso addresses two major issues in modern radiation oncology: errors in treatment set-up and tumor motion during treatment. In addition, the Calypso® 4D Localization System’s non-ionizing electromagnetic guidance has the potential to improve work flow efficiency and treatment room utilization. The technology is designed for body-wide cancers commonly treated with radiation therapy, including prostate, breast, lung, head, neck and other radiation therapy target organs.
Studies are now underway in breast and lung cancer using this technology. It can be used even if the prostate is removed, by implanting the transponders in the prostate bed.
