Advanced Oncotherapy Plc (LON:AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, announces that it remains on schedule with the development of the first LIGHT system, as per the timetable provided to shareholders on 6 March 2017, and provides the following technological update:
The Company continues to make significant advancements in the technology development and manufacture of its first LIGHT system following the 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 the individual accelerating SCDTL units have met expectations and results provide confidence that the units are now capable of accelerating a proton beam to 25MeV through the SCDTL. With much of the technological development now de-risked, the Company is on target to have a system capable of treating superficial tumours by the end of Q3 2018.
Prof. Ugo Amaldi, President of the TERA Foundation and member of Company’s Medical advisory board, commented: “The most challenging part in building a new linear accelerator is the manufacturing and individual testing of the accelerating structures; their integration in a single linear accelerator is a simple process. 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. 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.”
In addition, there has been good progress in the creation of the Patient Positioning System (“PPS”) which ensures that the patient is ideally prepared for the high accuracy and 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 integration testing completed. A real time X-ray verification system which enables continuous imaging of moving tumours, has also been developed, a challenge in proton therapy. In addition, the robotic treatment chair which can move and rotate the patient with high precision has been successfully tested. Most significantly, the overall connectivity from the PPS and the LIGHT system accelerating units has been established and successfully evaluated with system function emulation tools.
The scanning magnet subsystem, which provides the capability to accurately ‘paint’ the targeted tumour with protons, has now been produced. This is an essential part of the directional dose delivery system (or Nozzle System), which remains on schedule.
Progress at the Harley Street site remains on-track with the next stage of sub-structural work progressing well. Having completed the piling, further excavation work is now in progress and the Company will continue to provide on-site video updates through the Advanced Oncotherapy website.
Commenting, Nicolas Serandour, CEO of Advanced Oncotherapy Plc, said: “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.
“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.”
