NEW RADIOTHERAPY SYSTEM REDUCES COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO HEALTHY TISSUE Sandia National Laboratories has developed and tested a concept for a new radiotherapy system that delivers large doses of radiation during cancer treatments with little or no damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The system, called ion-induced nuclear radiotherapy (INRT), uses a conduit needle to deliver radiation to a highly localized region. This method has the potential for providing substantial improvements over existing radiotherapy techniques. Using the INRT system: Optimal radiation doses per exposure can be delivered, resulting in a fewer number of cancer treatments and lower therapy costs; Minimal damage is caused to the surrounding tissue; No radioactive waste is generated; Medical personnel are not exposed to radioactive material; The system provides the ability to use a broader range of radiation sources for cancer therapy, and Equipment costs are lower. The INRT system is applicable over a wide range of uses. First, the conduit needle would be inserted at the site of the tumor in much the same manner that a biopsy needle is inserted to collect a sample; tumors located in surgically inaccessible areas and/or delicate locations, such as vocal chord lesions or ocular melanomas, are prime candidates for INRT. Further, this treatment method would also be quite useful for very small tumors, an important feature in light of rapidly advancing detection capabilities that identify tumors at earlier stages of development and smaller sizes (millimeters, as opposed to centimeters). Second, The smaller sized equipment used to perform INRT increases the feasibility of a transportable system that could be wheeled into position in the operating room; the system would be used to irradiate the area surrounding a surgically removed tumor in order to kill any remaining, isolated cancer cells. Lastly, by increasing the distance from the tip of the conduit needle to the targeted area, the radiologist can widen the treatment area and smooth the radiation pattern; this technique provides broad, uniform exposures for treating dermatological lesions, thereby avoiding tissue scarring caused by such techniques at laser ablation or surgical removal. Sandia National Laboratories is making INRT technology available to companies interested in partnering with Sandia for further testing or development or for licensing opportunities. For further information, please respond by mail or fax, by June 7, 1996, to: Joanne Trujillo, Technology Partnerships, Sandia National Laboratories, MS 1380, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87105-1380. FAX: (505)843-4175. When responding, please indicate the date and title of this CBD notice and the type of partnering agreements into which your company would be most interested in entering. Further, responses should include a statement of interested parties' abilities to commercialize the technology.

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0621 19960529\SP-0002.MSC)