Mercy Hospital St. Louis is branching its radiation oncology department out into the world of proton therapy, and has chosen Mevion Medical Systems to do the job.

The Missouri-based provider has purchased a MEVION S250i PT system with HYPERSCAN Pencil Beam Scanning technology for installation at its David C. Pratt Cancer Center.

“At the Pratt Cancer Center, we have been expanding the technologies that we can provide to our patients,” Dr. Robert Frazier, chairman of radiation oncology at Mercy Hospital, said in a statement. “Cancer comes in so many forms that having the right set of tools for each patient is critical. Adding protons gives us a new precision tool that is becoming the standard of care for certain tumors.”

Cleared by the FDA in 2017, the solution's HYPERSCAN technology equips users with an advanced form of pencil beam scanning treatment that provides a faster and sharper delivery of proton radiation to tumors.

The system will be incorporated directly into the existing radiology oncology department, with its compact design supporting the sharing of existing resources and helping to maintain a fully integrated continuum of care.

“Mevion customers consistently demonstrate a successful approach to proton therapy by focusing on building systems that support their clinical goals,” Tina Yu, chief executive officer of Mevion Medical Systems, said in a statement. “Our compact system is able to support Mercy’s large community hospital network and provide the benefit of proton therapy to the patients who truly need it.”

Mevion recently agreed to install the solution as a second PT system at the Siteman Cancer Center of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. It also agreed to implement it as the first PT system in Utah at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI).

Details on the completion of the Mercy project were not disclosed.

Mercy Hospital St. Louis and Mevion did not respond for comment.

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