Three technologies developed at Princess Margaret, matured through Techna and commercialized by UHN's Technology Development and Commercialization (TDC) Office were launched as products this month at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) Forum in Barcelona, Spain.
The first of these products, known as the Integral Quality Monitor (IQM), was invented at UHN and commercialized by the German start-up iRT. IQM enables radiation therapy specialists to monitor therapy while a patient is being treated and serves as a "final check" while the radiation is administered to further improve safety. The technology is currently being beta tested at 20 sites around the world and was officially revealed to the public for the first time at ESTRO.
The second technology that was unveiled is a next-generation radiosurgery platform, known as the Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon™. The technology incorporates cone-beam CT image-guidance capabilities that were developed and prototyped at UHN, and was launched by Elekta—a leading multinational manufacturer of radiotherapy devices. "The imaging system unlocks new and exciting capabilities for the Gamma Knife," explains Techna Director Dr. David Jaffray.
The third, called AQUA, is an end-to-end software platform for managing department-level quality assurance and scheduling, which will help improve workflows and safety in radiation therapy departments. AQUA is being commercialized by Acumyn, an Ontario corporation spun off to commercialize and productize the platform. Sales and marketing of AQUA will be handled by Elekta through an exclusive agreement.