Already in 2018 RaySearch and NIRS (today known as QST) entered a partnership, including a long-term licensing agreement that enabled RaySearch to integrate the microdosimetric kinetic model (MKM) developed at NIRS, into the RayStation treatment planning system. This was followed by a research collaboration agreement in 2022, with focus on advancing ion beam therapy via the pencil beam scanning technique. The aim of the researchers from RaySearch and NIRS was to explore areas such as radiobiological modeling of ion-beam irradiation and dose fractionation, robust beam delivery and plan optimization algorithms.

QST's purchase of RayStation is a logical step and manifests the long and fruitful research collaboration. Some of the advanced technologies included are multicriteria optimization, deformable image registration, dose tracking over multiple treatments and adaptive radiotherapy.

Ion beam therapy is a highly advanced form of radiation therapy in which tumors are treated with protons or heavier ions such as helium or carbon. NIRS pioneered the clinical application of ion beam therapy during the 1990s and today, QST is a leading center for carbon ion therapy with more than 15,000 patients who have been treated at the HIMAC facility in Chiba. In 2016 an expansion from two to three treatment rooms for delivery of pencil beam scanning plans was completed, where the third room has the additional capability of a rotating gantry.

Dr Shigeru Yamada, former Director General of QST Hospital, says: "We are very pleased to have RayStation which will expand our research capabilities and also improve our ability to treat patients with high precision."

Johan Löf, founder and CEO, RaySearch, says: "We look forward to continuing our long and close collaboration with QST, to bring new solutions with speed, efficiency and optimization to healthcare providers around the world who are at the forefront of fighting cancer."

The order value is JPY 265 million (approximately SEK 18.6 million), excluding service contract, most of which will be recognized as revenue in the first quarter of 2024.