BSD Medical is Now Pyrexar Medical

The Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital has advanced its thermal oncology center's capability by adding a superficial hyperthermia treatment room alongside the existing deep regional hyperthermia suite. MWFH, managed by Taipei Medical University, is a 732 beds facility located in Taipei, Taiwan, and the country's first publicly owned and privately operated hospital.

"Out of a broad field of competitors, the cancer treatment team recognized Pyrexar as the manufacturer of the best hyperthermia medical equipment in the world," according to Dennis Lin, CEO of Hualong Biomed.   Wan Fang established its Hyperthermia Treatment Center in 2016, installing a BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia system. Their team and patients have been looking forward to combining hyperthermia with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy with the new BSD-500 Superficial Hyperthermia system, knowing that its odd ratio can be more than twice, especially for breast cancer and head and neck cancer patients.

In cooperation with Hematology-Oncology, Radiation Oncology, General Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, and Oral Surgery departments, the Hyperthermia Treatment Center aims to benefit cancer patients, collect more clinical data and experience to promote this integrative cancer therapy. This is an important milestone in cancer treatment.

Special recognition to Ray Lauritzen, VP of CustomerCare at Pyrexar Medical.  Ray arrived in Taiwan and was required to immediately enter the two-week quarantine for epidemic prevention before starting installation and training. Ray’s professionalism was formally recognized by the associate dean, professor, physician, nurses, medical physicists, radiation therapists, and case managers of the Cancer Treatment Center. 

Image-Guided Thermal Therapy is shown to be highly consistent over various MRI platforms. Currently, there are five image-guided hyperthermia systems treating patients in Europe. A recent quality assurance validation study was published in the International Journal of Hyperthermia comparing heating patterns of the Sigma Eye-MR applicator among different models of MRI systems. See Full Article - "A multi-institution study: comparison of the heating patterns of five different MR-guided deep hyperthermia systems using an anthropomorphic phantom." Curto et al.

Using the five sites in comparison, the study found accuracy and continuity between the systems, no matter which imaging system was used. "These three MR systems from GE, Philips, and Siemens represent a growing family of OEM imaging systems proven compatible with the BSD-2000 3D/MR hyperthermia system." Says Jason Ellsworth, VP Engineering. "We continue to evaluate new imaging systems from various manufacturers as requested for new installations, focusing mainly on the 1.5T MR with a 60-70cm bore."

The BSD-2000 3D/MR Image-Guided Hyperthermia system uses data from MRI taken throughout the hyperthermia treatment to create a pinpoint temperature map.  The data, when compared to the previous scan, is used to form a three-dimensional temperature map. "Essentially, every pixel on the screen represents a discrete changing temperature measurement," says Pyrexar CTO Paul Turner. "This results in tens of thousands of temperature data points in every slice taken."

By having a real-time image of the tumor site with a temperature overlay, the operator can ensure that the tumor is within the prescriptive target temperature threshold during the entire treatment. The heat zone's repositioning due to patient discomfort or patient movement can be retargeted with a touch of the screen. 

Related Article: Quantitative, Multi-institutional Evaluation of MR Thermometry Accuracy for Deep-Pelvic MR-Hyperthermia Systems Operating in Multi-vendor MR-systems Using a New Anthropomorphic Phantom, by Sergio Curto, et al

Pyrexar Medical was represented at the 83rd China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) in Shanghai, China. The CMEF, established in 1979, has become one of the world’s leading global integrated service platforms for medical device technologies. 

While most large events have been moved to virtual, this event has been the largest in-person exposition in the medical field since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Representing our product line in China is Dailan based distributor and long-time hyperthermia advocate, Orientech, Co., Ltd.

Dario Rodrigues Ph.D. is an assistant professor and thermal oncology physicist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Rodrigues's medical specialty is the treatment of cancer using hyperthermia therapy in combination with radiation treatments. Hyperthermia is a thermal therapy technique administered by focusing radio and microwaves to generate a cellular heat response.  As a physicist, he performs adjuvant hyperthermia treatments of pelvic, abdominal, and superficial tumors. He is also responsible for the treatment planning, thermal dosimetry, and quality assurance of the clinical hyperthermia equipment.

Dr. Rodrigues is also a talented researcher. At the recent COMSOL Conference, he presented his computer simulation results of a novel noninvasive brain applicator, which will pave the way to treat brain cancers using focused microwave hyperthermia.

Treating brain cancers, like glioblastoma multiforme, with hyperthermia and radiotherapy, is not new. Clinical studies, like "Survival benefit of hyperthermia in a prospective randomized trial of brachytherapy boost +/- hyperthermia for glioblastoma multiforme," Sneed, 1998, was an early phase III landmark study demonstrating heightened clinical response and increased survival. But the invasive nature of interstitial hyperthermia requires a specialty that few possess. Creating a non-invasive method of applying and steering microwave hyperthermia may bring some relief to those with non-operable Glioblastomas.

We will continue to follow his progress in pushing forward these advancements in the field of thermal oncology.