Calypso Medical Technologies Inc. treated its 10,000th prostate cancer patient with GPS for the Body in May, an important landmark for the Seattle-based targeted radiation therapy company and its flagship device.
GPS for the Body won FDA clearance in 2006 for focused prostate cancer radiation therapy using a proprietary guidance system that tracks a tumor in real time as the body moves, keeping the radiation beam on target.
The company landed 510(k) clearance for its Dynamic Edge Gating technology in October 2010, a feature that allows immediate disabling or enabling of the radiation beam in response to organ motion.
Click here to listen to MassDevice’s interview with Calypso Medical president & CEO Ed Vertatschitsch. You can also download an MP3 of the interview by right-clicking.
Tiny glass-encapsulated Beacon transponders are implanted at the site of a tumor, allowing the radiation delivery system to aim a focused beam to avoid healthy tissue and help stem common prostate cancer radiotherapy side effects such as fecal and urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
The device also has CE Mark approval in the European Union and regulatory approval from Health Canada.
While the approved indication is limited to the prostate so far, the device has been considered for use against lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and newly appointed president & CEO Ed Vertatschitsch told MassDevice that there’s no reason the system couldn’t be used to treat any area of the body.
Click here to listen to MassDevice’s interview with Calypso Medical president & CEO Ed Vertatschitsch on where the company is headed next, including clinical trials for additional cancers and the potential for an initial public offering.
