The use of 3D RTP and IMRT is increasing for patient dose escalation. The major stumbling block to the growth and universal acceptance of these high-tech methods is the lack of available methods to verify that the planned dose will be delivered to the patient correctly. MGS Research Incorporated has developed tissue-equivalent BANG(R) gels that can record permanent images of complete 3D dose distributions of ionizing radiations at therapeutic doses. Dose distributions in BANG gels can be measured with high spatial accuracy and precision using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Having verified the potential utility of BANG gel dosimetry for radiation therapy, MGS Research intends to create, in collaboration with SUNY at Stony Brook, a completely automated 3-D conformal RTP and IMRT verification system based on the use of BANG gel phantoms and MRI. Our system will be the only tool available for this purpose and thus we anticipate a sizeable demand. The long-term goal of this project is to deliver a unique product consisting of 1) DICOM-RT compatible software module capable of creating 3D dose data sets from MRI scans of irradiated BANG gel phantoms and of correlating those with the treatment plan data (Phases I and II), 2) a series of specially designed phantoms containing BANG gel inserts and MRI- and CT-sensitive structures (Phase II), and 3) MRI scanning and gel analysis service for customers using BANG gel dosimeters (Phase III).
There are approximately 2000 Radiation Oncology clinics in the USA. If 1/3 of them purchase the verification phantom at $3500 and the software at $2500 this yields a potential total revenue of $4,000,000. If the system is used for monthly QA of an IMRT dynamic MLC system and if the monthly testing includes the use of 2 Gel inserts at $125 each and an additional $200 for the MR dosimetry, this leads to an annual revenue of $5400 per institution. If 25% of the institutions (the larger university centers) follow this course of action this leads to an additional annual revenue of $2,700,000 per year.
