A new 10‑year strategic collaboration between the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Accuray Incorporated will support clinical research, education and training, and development of adaptive therapies that help empower medical care teams to continually raise the standard in cancer care.
The research agreement will focus on advancing personalized cancer treatments using Accuray’s Stellar adaptive radiation therapy platform. It builds on the longstanding partnership between Accuray and the school to develop precision radiation therapy technologies using imaging to precisely deliver dose sculpting for cancer treatments.
In the late 1980s, Thomas “Rock” Mackie, University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of medical physics, human oncology, and engineering, and his team invented technology that was later commercialized as the TomoTherapy System, Accuray’s first helical radiation delivery platform. This ushered in a new era in radiation medicine, enabling clinicians for the first time to integrate helical 3D image-guidance with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT), increasing treatment precision and accuracy to help improve patients’ cancer care. Continued enhancements to the helical platform have introduced advances in image quality, speed, versatility and workflow efficiency.
The new agreement between the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and Accuray will build on this shared history to advance the next generation of adaptive radiotherapy approaches, according to Dr. Zachary Morris, professor and chair of human oncology.
“At UW we have exceptionally talented innovators in radiation medicine across the spectrum from discovery science to translational and clinical research, and we have a track record of advancing discoveries to clinical practice. This agreement with Accuray is an exciting next step that will accelerate the process of translating research innovation into technologies that better serve patients, leveraging a robust academic-industry collaboration to advance personalized radiotherapy treatments,” said Morris.
“Our success depends on collaboration, innovation, and the energy that comes from addressing meaningful clinical needs for patients,” said Steve La Neve, President and CEO of Accuray. “This Master Research Agreement formalizes and expands our longstanding relationship with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and grounds our innovations in real-world clinical practice and impactful patient care. By leveraging our respective strengths, we aim to extend the curative power of radiotherapy so departments of all sizes around the world can benefit from advanced adaptive therapies.”
“This framework enables us to build on a long history of shared innovation with Accuray to deepen our collaboration, bring future innovations from bench to bedside, and create translational research and training opportunities that keep patients at the center of our work,” said Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and vice chancellor for medical affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
