“We hope to make a start with live treatments in 2009," says Tomas Gustafsson, CEO of Micropos Medical.
 
Micropos Medical´s technique can be likened to GPS navigation, but with local navigation. The radio transmitters are placed in or next to the cancerous tumour. The radio signals from the transmitter then continuously show the precise position of the tumour in three different dimensions on a computer screen. Information about precise position means that radiotherapy can be targeted more accurately at the tumour.
 
To obtain effective treatment the whole tumour has to be exposed to radiation. This is difficult as organs move randomly and unpredictably in the body. The movements of the organs may, for example, be due to the patient breathing or moving. This has been compensated for to date by exposing a larger area to radiation, with the result that healthy tissue alongside the tumour is also irradiated and consequently damaged. In prostate cancer, for example, this may lead to side-effects such as impotence, rectal problems and incontinence.
 
"Our system means that the position of the cancerous tumour can be followed continuously, and due to the system´s precision the radiation can be concentrated on the tumour and the risk of damaging the surrounding organs can be reduced. It is very important to substantially reduce the side-effects, especially with improved quality of life in mind," says Gustafsson. Another great advantage of increased precision is that it is possible to increase the radiation doses, which can improve the chance of a cure and of fewer treatments for the patients.
 
For further information contact:
Tomas Gustafsson, CEO of Micropos Medical AB (publ), +46 (0)31-772 80 99, +46 (0)70-583 08 55

Micropos Medical AB (publ) develops and sells a system that improves the radiotherapy of prostate cancer. The system has CE approval for use throughout the EU. The company was started in 2003 by an international team of cancer specialists and professors at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Radiumhemmet at Karolinska University Hospital, Haukeland University Hospital and the University of Minnesota. Today the company operates at the Chalmers Innovation business incubator in Gothenburg.
 
Micropos Medical AB (publ)
Stena Center 1
SE-412 92 Gothenburg
Sweden
 
Phone: +46-31-772 80 99
Fax: +46-31-772 80 91
E-mail: info@micropos.se
Web: www.micropos.se