University Clinic Heidelberg Explores Advanced TomoTherapy® Delivery Technique

Research indicates up to 75 percent reduction in treatment time, with improved treatment plan quality

MADISON, Wis – Feb. 12, 2009 – TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ: TOMO) announced today that research partner University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, has demonstrated the ability to dramatically reduce treatment times for the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® system, while at the same time improving plan quality by further reducing radiation dose to normal tissue. Based on an in-depth planning study, University Clinic Heidelberg researchers anticipate that a reduction in treatment time of between 40 to 75 percent will be possible with next-generation delivery techniques currently in development by TomoTherapy. Detailed findings of the study will be published later this year.

University Clinic Heidelberg, one of the top radiation oncology institutes worldwide, installed the Hi·Art treatment system in March 2006. In December 2008, the medical team, led by Prof. Dr. Jurgen Debus, Prof. Dr. Klaus Herfarth and Dr. Florian Sterzing, treated its 500th cancer patient with TomoTherapy’s unique CT platform-based solution for image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT).

TomoTherapy is used in our clinic to treat a wide range of cancer cases. Because of its advanced capabilities over conventional linear accelerators, the system plays an important role for indications where a large volume is to be irradiated and avoidance of critical structures is paramount,” said Dr. Sterzing. “These cases can require longer treatment times to gain optimal results. However, with the advanced TomoTherapy delivery technique, our research indicates that we should be able to treat these most complex cases in as little as 25 percent of the time necessary now. This is with no compromise in the excellent plan quality to which we are accustomed. In fact, we believe treatment quality will be improved.”

Emphasizing that the enhancements will not just benefit cases involving large or complex tumors, Dr. Sterzing added: “Any treatment you do at the moment will likely be faster, and of even higher quality.”

According to Gustavo Olivera, Ph.D., vice president of research for TomoTherapy, the key to this new development is adding another dimension of dynamic beam control to the Hi·Art treatment system.

“TomoTherapy’s form of beam delivery is already widely considered to be the gold standard. This new development, we believe, will extend the existing advantage of our technique over volumetric arc therapy,” said Dr. Olivera. “Along with improved plan quality, we expect that our customers will gain in efficiency and clinical flexibility, and that patient comfort will be improved.”

Added Dr. Olivera: “We are pleased to have University Clinic Heidelberg as a research partner. Their work in evaluating this advanced delivery technique will help identify the clinical situations where it can be most beneficial.”

About TomoTherapy Incorporated

TomoTherapy Incorporated develops, markets and sells advanced radiation therapy solutions that can be used to treat a wide variety of cancers, from the most common to the most complex. The ring gantry-based TomoTherapy® platform combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. TomoTherapy’s suite of solutions include its flagship Hi·Art® treatment system, which has been used to deliver more than three million CT-guided, helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fractions; the TomoHD treatment system, designed to enable cancer centers to treat a broader patient population with a single device; and the TomoMobile relocatable radiation therapy solution, designed to improve access and availability of state-of-the-art cancer care. TomoTherapy’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO. To learn more about TomoTherapy, please visit TomoTherapy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release regarding future products, events, expectations and other similar matters, including but not limited to statements using the terms “anticipates”, “believe(s)”, “will”, “can”, “expect”, or “should” constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including but not limited to factors such as our ability to gain customer acceptance, ability to complete development in a timely manner, ability to protect intellectual property, risks of interruption due to events beyond the company’s control, and the other risks listed from time to time in TomoTherapy’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which by this reference are incorporated herein. These forward-looking statements represent TomoTherapy’s judgments as of the date of this press release. TomoTherapy assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release because of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

12 Feb 2009

Investor Contact:
Thomas E. Powell
Chief Financial Officer
608.824.2800
tpowell@tomotherapy.com
Media Contact:
Kevin O’Malley Manager
Corporate Communications
608.824.2800
komalley@tomotherapy.com