News | Radiation Oncology | June 12, 2017

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Convergent R.N.R. Ltd. (CRnR) today announced a collaboration to further develop new radiation technology aimed at reducing side effects of standard radiation including unwanted radiation to healthy tissue

The alliance will study the feasibility of using CRnR’s converging x-ray lens technology as an effective radiotherapy and radiosurgery option. MD Anderson will develop technologies to enhance and enable clinical implementation of CRnR’s X-ray lens system called Mercy Beam.

MD Anderson will further explore the system’s use in delivering tumor-killing radiation while limiting the dose to healthy and/or sensitive organs in head and neck and pediatric cancers as well as small tumors in various other cancers. The beam works by focusing intensity of kilo-voltage X-ray radiation (similar to those used in chest X-ray) at the tumor site while delivering little to no radiation to nearby organs. This is in contrast to current practices in radiotherapy where mega-voltage X-ray radiation is used to kill cancer tumors.

“We hope to establish whether this technology, which converges and focuses low-energy X-rays, has potential for clinical and patient care use,” said Mohammad Salehpour, Ph.D., professor of Radiation Physics at MD Anderson. “We also will test its efficacy in destroying cancer cells and develop treatment protocols and procedures using the technology.”

 The study will first look at the technology’s applicability for smaller tumors, with the goal of furthering its efficacy for larger tumors.

“This alliance will provide CRnR with an opportunity for development of low-energy converging X-ray beam technology for treating cancerous tumors,” said Ze’ev Harel, chief executive officer and founder of CRnR. “It has the potential to establish CRnR as a leader in treating small tumors, while still sparing sensitive adjacent organs. It would further facilitate the general ends of constructing hybrid operation rooms based on radiotherapy-supported surgery theatres, and providing much-needed radiotherapy in peripheral locations and in remote and rural clinics. This alliance could benefit the company, and enable speeding up the development by performing preclinical and clinical trials.”

As part of the alliance, CRnR will develop, and MD Anderson will assess, the effectiveness of an MLC-like collimator for CRnR’ s X-ray lens technology. CRnR will provide and install a research chamber in MD Anderson’s simulation lab, where simulation and pre-clinical research will determine the potential for a clinical-grade device. MD Anderson will build, equip and staff a simulation lab housing a research chamber provided by CRnR, and will receive payments based on market capitalization, milestones toward FDA approval, and royalties based on net sales for cancer treatments.

 

For more information: www.mdanderson.org


Related Content

News | ACR

July 15, 2026 — The American College of Radiology (ACR) recently issued a statement praising the inclusion of the ...

Time July 16, 2026
arrow
News | Ultrasound Imaging

July 13, 2026 — Neal F. Kassell, MD, founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, received the inaugural ...

Time July 13, 2026
arrow
News | Radiation Oncology

July 10, 2026 — A new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that although the ...

Time July 10, 2026
arrow
News | Interventional Radiology

June 25, 2026 — Radiologists performing no interventional radiology-related (IR-related) work increased from one-third ...

Time June 25, 2026
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

June 15, 2026 — HOPPR recently announced that HOPPR AI Foundry is now available in AWS Marketplace. The availability ...

Time June 19, 2026
arrow
News | Radiation Therapy

June 3, 2026 — Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. and Tolmar International Ltd. have announced a strategic collaboration agreement ...

Time June 04, 2026
arrow
News | ASTRO

May 18, 2026 — The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the European Society for Radiotherapy and ...

Time May 19, 2026
arrow
News | Women's Health

May 6, 2026 — GE HealthCare has announced the availability of MIM ComboTherapy GYN HDR/EBRT2, a solution designed to ...

Time May 06, 2026
arrow
News | Radiation Oncology

April 27, 2026 — Radiation oncologists from across the country were in Washington in late April to warn lawmakers that ...

Time May 04, 2026
arrow
News | Radiation Therapy

April 30, 2026 — The Siemens Healthineers business area, Varian, has been awarded up to $60 million over five years by ...

Time April 30, 2026
arrow
Subscribe Now