July 09, 2019
Kansas City, Kan. (July 9, 2019) – The University of Kansas Health System announced today it has signed an agreement with IBA for the purchase of their Proteus®ONE system for the region’s first proton therapy center. The health system anticipates breaking ground in 2019.
“In signing an agreement with IBA to install their compact Proteus One treatment room system, we have reached another key milestone in our work to transform the way healthcare is delivered in our city, state and region,” said Bob Page, president and chief executive officer of The University of Kansas Health System. “We are joining an elite group of health systems and hospitals offering this leading technology.”
“Proton beam therapy coming to our community is exciting for patients because we will offer treatment not currently available in this region,” said Tammy Peterman, president of the Kansas City division and executive vice president, chief operating officer, chief nursing officer for The University of Kansas Health System.
Proton therapy is an advanced form of targeted radiation treatment using protons – rather than x-rays – to attack cancerous tumors, minimizing radiation exposure to healthy organs and surrounding tissue. This personalized care offers opportunities to more precisely target treatment, with fewer short- and long-term side effects, depending on each patient’s unique condition.
The University of Kansas Health System first announced plans to bring this innovative treatment to Kansas in February 2019.
“Today, more and more oncology patients are accessing proton therapy. IBA is pleased to partner with The University of Kansas Health System in bringing this innovative, efficient cancer treatment close to home for their patients,” said Olivier Legrain, chief executive officer of IBA. “Our mission is to increase accessibility to proton therapy and we are excited to do this at one of our nation’s best health systems.”
IBA’s compact single-room treatment system, Proteus®ONE, will be the centerpiece of the proton therapy center at The University of Kansas Health System. This open gantry technology will allow for easy patient access, positioning and comfort as well as precise dose delivery through Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS), advanced imaging techniques and other future industry-leading capabilities such as Spot Scanning Proton ARC therapy and FLASH therapy.
“This innovative therapy minimizes radiation exposure to healthy organs and surrounding tissue,” said Terance Tsue, MD, vice president and physician-in-chief of The University of Kansas Cancer Center. “Our patients will have access to precise pencil beam dosing with the most advanced imaging techniques available.”
“Proton therapy is one of the most exciting new technologies to come onboard for the treatment of cancer and making sure our patients have access to this treatment option is essential,” said Roy Jensen, M.D., director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center.
For details and ongoing updates about proton therapy coming to The University of Kansas Health System, click: https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/about-us/academic-advantage.
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