Medical device corporations Radexel said on the 24th that it was selected as the lead institution for the Global Flagship project, a pan-ministry advanced medical device research and development program.
The goal is to develop a world-class next-generation radiotherapy device that overcomes the limitations of existing radiotherapy machines and reduces radiation effects on normal tissue to lower treatment side effects.
This project is a national strategic research and development program jointly promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety. Including 27.95 billion won in government support, the total project cost is 35.2 billion won and will be carried out over the next seven years.
The Radexel consortium will develop the MPRT-System, a magnetic field control-based radiotherapy device that reduces the radiation dose delivered to normal tissue around tumors.
Existing radiotherapy, through intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), can precisely irradiate tumors, but when tumors and normal tissue are in close contact, there are limits to reducing radiation exposure to normal tissue.
MPRT is a technology that controls with a magnetic field the travel path of secondary electrons generated when X-rays interact with human tissue. The key is to reduce the spread of secondary electrons into normal tissue, lowering the dose delivered to surrounding normal tissue while maintaining the dose required for the tumor.
Through this project, Radexel plans to develop an integrated radiotherapy device that combines technology controlling the dose distribution of radiation using two magnetic fields with dedicated treatment-planning software. The company's stated goal is to reduce the dose delivered to normal tissue by up to 30% compared with existing radiotherapy machines and to increase the maximum output dose rate by 50%.
Asan Medical Center, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), SEC, Oncosoft, and the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) will participate as joint research institutions. Kangwon National University Hospital will participate as a nonclinical and clinical research partner to verify the safety and clinical usefulness of MPRT technology.
In addition to product development, the company will also proceed in parallel with accredited testing, approvals by the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety, and preparations for adoption in clinical settings. The company plans to verify applicability in real treatment environments for breast cancer and prostate cancer and then expand the applicable cancer types to enter overseas markets.
Chief investigator Jeong Nurihyeon, Radexel CMO (chief medical officer), said, "Our goal is to develop a world-class next-generation treatment platform that goes beyond the physical limits of conventional X-ray therapy, more effectively protects normal tissue, and reduces treatment side effects," and added, "We will build end-to-end development and commercialization capabilities spanning product development, clinical validation, approvals, and entry into global markets."
☞MPRT
MPRT (Magnetic Precision Radiation Therapy) is a technology that uses a magnetic field to control the travel path of secondary electrons generated during radiotherapy. The goal is to maintain the radiation dose required for the tumor while reducing the dose that spreads to normal tissue around the tumor.