BSD Medical is Now Pyrexar Medical

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.

The link between increased longevity and hyperthermia treatment was considered a landmark study when it published in late 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Recently, our partners at Sennewald Medizintechnik, caught up with renowned expert and cancer study co-author Professor Dr. Lars Lindner of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich to get a deeper understanding of the findings.

After examining over 30 Soft Tissue Sarcoma trials, Prof. Dr. Linder lists the top four significant findings:

1. Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy is and remains the standard of care for soft tissue sarcomas.
2. The benefit of chemotherapy has also been shown in the adjuvant situation in high-risk patients.
3. Neoadjuvant therapy is preferable because it combats potential micrometastasis at the earliest possible time and improves operability.
4. Regional hyperthermia improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy and leads to improved patient survival.

The complete interview is available on the Sennewald Medizintechnik April 2021 newsletter.