BSD Medical is Now Pyrexar Medical

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to announce the opening of the Tumor Hyperthermia Center and the installation of a Pyrexar BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia System. The recent addition of a Mevion radiotherapy system makes this the first dual therapy, deep regional hyperthermia/proton center in Asia. 

The BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System is used to treat cancer tumors and aid radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments by raising the tumor micro-environment to 43˚C. This increase in temperature improves blood flow and perfusions, promotes immune modulation, prevents cancer cells from DNA repair and leads to cancer cell death.

The facility, located in the Guangdong Province, is a joint-venture between Jinshazhou Hospital and Australia's ICON Group. The University of Wollongong in New South Wales also collaborates with the center to provide medical physics research, training, and education.

A special thank you to the team at Orientech for their hard work and dedication in placing this system in the hospital.

On June 17, Tübingen University Hospital officially inaugurated its new BSD-2000 3D/MR Image-Guided Hyperthermia System (IGHT), supplied by Pyrexar Medical/Dr. Sennewald Medizintechnik GmbH/ and Philips Healthcare.

Image-Guided Hyperthermia uses live MRI images to verify optimal tumor temperature to ensure optimal radiosensitizing benefits of the therapy. This non-invasive approach allows the operator to move the thermal zone or adjust power output with a touchscreen interface.  The steering process avoids patient applicator repositioning or the interruption of treatment, improving workflow and thermal dose.

This state-of-the-art system will be shared by the Clinic for Radiation Oncology and the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology. In this way, it not only serves cancer treatment but will also be used for diagnostic imaging, primarily for pediatric radiology. 

The photo above shows those taking part in the celebrations: (left to right, Copyright Universitätsklinikum Tübingen/Janina Fischer) Prof. Dr. Daniel Zips (Director of the University Department of Radiation Oncology), Susanne Schäfer (MTA in radiology), Prof. Dr. Michael Bamberg (Chief Medical Director and Chairman of the Executive Board), Dr. Gerhard Sennewald (CEO), Prof. Dr. Konstantin Nikolaou (Director of the University Department of Radiology and of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schäfer (Head of Pediatric Radiology), and Thomas Richter of Philips GmbH.

After taking a two year break due to COVID restrictions, the CME accredited educational program offered by the University of Maryland, School of Thermal Oncology is now open for registration.

The last session drew an international crowd, including physicians from South Korea, Poland, and Japan, as well as prominent cancer centers here in the U.S. The feedback we received, and this was a five-star educational program, valuable to any member of a thermal oncology team.  Topics covered all aspects of practice management, patient treatment, physics, and workflow. Practice managers shared how adding thermal oncology to their services increased overall service revenue by over 19%.  This information is essential for centers that would like to add hyperthermia systems but require cost justification to receive purchase approval.

In 2022, the course will be held October 6th-7th in Baltimore Maryland. 
Registration is limited to 24 seats.

Pyrexar Medical continues to support educational outreach from organizations like the University of Maryland, Society of Thermal Medicine, European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, and similar institutions that strive to move forward hyperthermia research in the treatment of cancer. The CME course outline can be found here.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University celebrated the opening of its thermal oncology center located in the Henan province of mainland China.  The hospital constructed a custom hyperthermia suite to house the BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia system built by Pyrexar Medical.  First Affiliated has a long history of hyperthermic clinical research and plans to further pioneer its use, in addition to general clinical use for their cancer patients.

Often referred to as "the largest hospital in the world", First Affiliated offers 7,000 beds. Compare that to the largest medical center in the US, New York-Presbyterian at 2,678 and you get to understand the colossal scale of the facility.

The opening celebration included a presentation ceremony, lectures on hyperthermia in the treatment of cancer, and a tour of the facility, attracting physicians and medical professionals from the area.

What does that mean for the future of hyperthermia in China? Thermal therapy has long been accepted in Asia and is growing steadily. The prestige,  influence, and access of a medical facility of this magnitude is expected to result in accelerated demand for Pyrexar system installations throughout China.

A special thanks to the talented team at our distributor Dalian Orientech for their dedication to bringing the best in medical technology to the region.