Advanced Oncotherapy (LON:AVO) said it remains on track to deliver its first LIGHT system for treating superficial tumours by the third quarter of 2018.
The developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment said it has made “significant advancements” in the manufacture of the LIGHT system following successful integration and testing of the first Side Coupled Drift Tube Linac (SCDTL) with the Radiofrequency Quadrupole (RFQ) and proton source.
Lower power testing of individual accelerating SCDTL units met expectations and the company said the results “provide confidence that the units are now capable of accelerating a proton beam to 25MeV through the SCDTL”.
“We are very confident that SCDTLs will work properly, also because an identical system is working up to 35MeV in the ENEA laboratory at Frascati, Italy,” said professor Ugo Amaldi, president of the TERA Foundation and member of company's medical advisory board.
“For the Couple Cavity Linac (CCL) modules, we are also confident since one of them has been successfully built and tested by the TERA Foundation and accelerated protons from 62 to 73MeV."
The group also reported “good progress” in the creation of the Patient Positioning System (PPS), which ensures the patient is prepared for the dose sparing proton treatments produced by the LIGHT system.
The Diagnostic Quality CT scanner used in the treatment room to image patients in a seated position has been manufactured and a real-time X-ray verification for continuous imaging of moving tumours has also been developed.
The overall connectivity from the PPS and the LIGHT system accelerating units has been established and successfully evaluated with system function emulation tools, the company said.
Progress at the Harley Street site also remains on track with the next stage of sub-structural work progressing well.
"I am very pleased that the technological development of our LIGHT system remains on track and, with protons accelerated through three of the main four accelerating structures, the proton source, RFQ and SCDTL, and the design of the fourth accelerating structure already proven, we are confident that we will have a proton therapy system capable of treating superficial tumours by the end of Q3 next year,” said Advanced Oncotherapy chief executive, Nicolas Serandour.
"As we come to the end of the year I am delighted that we enter 2018 in a strong position, not only through the technological developments achieved to date, but also through the security of longer-term financing now completed and with good progress to report at our flagship Harley Street site."