A rendering of a new radiation therapy device, developed by Middleton-based Leo Cancer Care, that allows patients to get radiation while sitting upright.

UW Health to use new device that sits cancer patients upright for radiation therapy. It could be a game-changer.

By Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

A new, more effective option for radiation therapy is coming for cancer patients at UW Health, one that experts hope will not only make treatment more affordable, but also more empowering for patients.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison affiliated health system announced Tuesday it has struck a deal with Leo Cancer Care, a Middleton-based medical products company, to be the first medical center in the world to use the company’s new radiation device.

The device, dubbed “Marie” in honor of radiotherapy pioneer and Nobel Prize-winner Marie Curie, allows patients to receive radiation treatment while sitting upright, instead of the usual way of lying flat on their backs. And, instead of rotating hundreds of tons of metal around the patient to deliver the radiation beams, Marie rotates the patients, turning their bodies to the precise angle at which the radiation needs to be delivered to treat the person’s cancer.

UW Health expects to start treating patients with the device in 2024, when construction on its new cancer treatment center is scheduled to be complete. Read more …