University of Maryland School of Medicine introduces new FDA-approved cancer treatment technology

University of Maryland School of Medicine, won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be brought to market and will be used to treat patients at the school's affiliated Baltimore hospital.

The GammaPod was invented by Cedric X. Yu, a clinical professor of radiation oncology at the School of Medicine, and William F. Regine, chief of radiation oncology at the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. It has been in development for nearly 10 years and is backed by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. A prototype has been tested at the University of Maryland Medical Center and the system was granted 501(k) FDA clearance in late December. The clearance signals the device being brought to market is satisfyingly as safe and effective.

The technology uses stereotactic radiation therapy, which delivers a high-dose of radiation directly to a tumor without affecting nearby healthy tissue. The GammaPod system targets a tumor with thousands of precisely focused beams of radiation from 36 rotating sources. Treatments can take five to 40 minutes each and patients commonly require fewer sessions of stereotactic radiation.

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