TAMPA, Fla.–BayCare Health System has begun treating cancer patients using Mevion Medical Systems’ latest-generation proton therapy technology at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, becoming the first health system in Florida and the second worldwide to offer treatment using the MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System.
The new BayCare Proton Center represents a $33 million investment and expands the health system’s radiation oncology capabilities by introducing proton therapy for both adult and pediatric cancer patients.
Located within the Fred J. Woods Radiation Therapy Center on the St. Joseph’s Hospital campus, the facility features a new treatment vault designed to accommodate Mevion’s compact proton therapy platform.
The system is designed to deliver highly targeted radiation to tumors while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which typically uses X-rays, proton therapy uses charged particles that can be controlled to deposit much of their radiation dose at a specified depth.
BayCare is the second medical center to begin treating patients with the MEVION S250-FIT system, following Stanford Medicine, which introduced the technology four months earlier.
The Tampa installation also demonstrates how the system can be integrated into a radiation therapy facility without requiring the large treatment rooms traditionally associated with proton therapy equipment.
“We have always believed that every health system should be able to offer proton therapy within its own radiation oncology service,” said Tina Yu, PhD, President and CEO of Mevion Medical Systems. “BayCare shows it can be done. Its own team is treating patients from a LINAC-sized vault, and that is a model any health system can follow.”
The MEVION S250-FIT combines a compact proton accelerator with fixed-beam technology and HYPERSCAN pencil beam scanning, which allows clinicians to direct radiation doses precisely across a tumor.
The platform also incorporates Leo Cancer Care’s Marie 360-degree upright patient positioning system, integrated computed tomography (CT) imaging and RaySearch Laboratories’ RayStation treatment planning software.
Unlike traditional proton therapy systems that use a large rotating gantry to direct the proton beam around a patient, the MEVION S250-FIT rotates the patient relative to a fixed beam.
This approach eliminates the need for a conventional proton gantry and allows the equipment to fit inside a treatment room comparable in size to one used for a standard medical linear accelerator.
Patients receive treatment in a seated position, which may improve comfort and provide an alternative for individuals who have difficulty lying flat during radiation therapy.
BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners said the new facility expands access to specialized cancer treatment for patients in the Tampa Bay region.
“Bringing proton therapy to BayCare reflects our commitment to expanding access to leading-edge cancer care for the communities we serve,” Conners said. “Patients who can benefit from this highly precise treatment now have another advanced option close to home, supported by the compassion, expertise and comprehensive cancer care they expect from BayCare.”
The new proton center complements BayCare’s existing accredited radiation oncology programs at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Winter Haven Hospital in Winter Haven.
Proton therapy is used to treat certain cancers where limiting radiation exposure to surrounding organs and healthy tissue is particularly important. It can be especially valuable in selected pediatric cancers and tumors located near sensitive structures, although its advantages over conventional radiation therapy depend on the individual patient’s condition.
Mevion’s compact system is intended to address one of the major barriers to expanding proton therapy: the substantial infrastructure and space requirements of conventional proton treatment facilities.
By allowing hospitals to install proton therapy equipment in treatment rooms similar in size to those used for conventional radiation therapy, the company aims to make the technology more accessible to regional health systems and cancer centers.
According to Mevion, approximately a dozen additional MEVION S250-FIT programs are in various stages of installation or planning across the United States, Europe and Asia.
The Tampa facility marks another step in the deployment of compact proton therapy systems as hospitals seek to expand advanced cancer treatment options without constructing the larger facilities traditionally required for proton therapy.
