Paris, France – 24 September 2020. TheraPanacea and Acibadem University announce a promising collaboration to reinvent radiation treatment as we know it, taking magnetic resonance (MR) based radiotherapy to the next level of smart, AI-based, adaptive radiation treatment planning on-the-fly.

Radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for most cancer patients. Unfortunately, current treatment planning solutions (TPS) are semi-automatic, heavily relying on highly toxic CT imaging and human clinical expertise. This renders the procedure inefficient and inefficacious with poor treatment outcomes and severe side effects. Acibadem University and TheraPanacea aim to change this scenario by leveraging the distinct yet complementary expertise from both institutions.

A medical technology company created in 2017, TheraPanacea uses its expertise in medical imaging, advanced mathematics, and data sciences to develop and market cutting-edge software to optimize diagnostics, prognostics, and therapies for cancer. ART-PlanTM, its first software product for radiotherapy, has been available on the European market since 2019. TheraPanacea has won many prestigious prizes, including notably a European Horizon 2020 SME Instrument grant to pursue their “ART-AI” project to deliver the first AI-powered software solution for adaptive MR-based radiation treatment planning.

“Acibadem Healthcare Group offers the most advanced cancer care facilities in Minor Asia, Middle East and Caucasus regions. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Enis Özyar, the radiation therapy departments offer excellent cancer care through high quality personnel and clinical practices, fast adoption of innovative technologies and a state-of-the art infrastructure. With this partnership we will accelerate the development of the first fully MR treatment planning system that effectively delivers radiation therapy on the fly for more efficient, safe and precise treatment for cancer patients”, explains Professor Nikos Paragios, founder and CEO of TheraPanacea.

Therapanacea & Acibadem

Acıbadem Healthcare Group is a Turkish healthcare institution, representing the world’s second largest Healthcare Chain following its contract with the IHH Healthcare Berhad. It offers a special ecosystem consisting of 21.000 employees, 21 hospitals and 13 outpatient clinics, including various healthcare institutions and a University. Acıbadem University which is founded in 2007 has a strong academic teaching team that trains healthcare students to be the future healthcare professionals who continually research innovations in all fields of medical science. With the mission of being a strongly research oriented university, the research laboratories are fitted out with the latest state of the art equipment, designed to complement the life sciences and biotechnology fields. Acıbadem Healthcare Groups’s 11 Oncology Centers are equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art technology, for optimal diagnosis and treatment.

In September 2018, they became the first in Turkey to adopt an MRI-embedded linear accelerator allowing imaging during radiotherapy.

“Within 2 years, we’ve treated more than 300 patients with an MR guided radiotherapy at Acibadem Maslak University Hospital”, says Prof. MD. Enis Özyar, Professor and Chair at Acibadem Maslak Hospital. “This adaptive radiotherapy’s benefits make it an appealing modality for hypofractionated and stereotactic body radiotherapy. Seeing that the patient is waiting to initiate his treatment whilst a radiation plan is being adapted, developing a fully adaptive, AI-powered treatment planning software is urgently needed. We are extremely excited to cooperate with Therapanacea towards realising this goal.”