Saint Mary’s Health Care medical physicist awarded patent
for innovative doorless entry to radiation therapy room
in Lacks Cancer Center

    US Patent number 7,291,854 first of a kind at Saint Mary’s

Receiving radiation therapy for cancer treatment can be daunting.  The technology is large and intimidating; the treatments are highly complex.. Add to that the feeling of being sealed in a vault as the 3000-pound doors of the suite close to avoid radiation leakage, and it’s a pretty claustrophobic situation.  At the Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary’s Health Care, that isn’t the case.

Tewfik Bichay, PhD, director of medical physics at Saint Mary’s, was aware of this problem when he was working on the design of the radiation oncology area of the new Lacks Cancer Center, and so he designed a “doorless entry” to the suite.  “My major motivator was to address patient anxiety about the feeling of being ‘alone and entombed’ in a treatment room behind a massive door,” said Bichay.  “Our patients now feel that they are simply walking down an open hallway to receive their treatment.”

Patients feel much more comfortable with the new entrance, and radiation leakage is less than with traditional vault doors.  Realizing that the design was unique, Saint Mary’s, working with the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative, applied for a patent on the new configuration. On November 6, 2007, the United States Patent Office awarded Patent 7291854 to Saint Mary’s Health Care for the doorless entry.

The patent will be licensed on a nonexclusive basis so that other hospitals can benefit from the invention and Bichay expects that many other radiation therapy facilities in Michigan and elsewhere will adopt the design.

Susan Hoppough, RN, PhD, Saint Mary’s Director of Innovation, Research, and Cancer Control, commented: "Saint Mary's support of Dr. Bichay’s work is evidence of its commitment to bringing innovative technologies to this community. This is the first successful patent application coming from the collaborative work with the WMSTI and an excellent example of how these technologies are used to enhance the patient care experience. I expect that we will be applying for other patents in the future because of our research capabilities here at Saint Mary’s. " 

Added Linda Chamberlain, Executive Director of the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative,  "This patent is great news not only for Dr. Bichay and Saint Mary's, but also for our life sciences community and inventive spirit which is leading to new products and technologies from our region. The West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative is pleased to have the privilege to be involved in supporting health care providers through patent commercialization."

Interviews and photos available.

Saint Mary’s Health Care is an integrated network of health care excellence offering a unique combination of capabilities to deliver a health care experience that is more complete and personally satisfying.  Our commitment to offer the latest technology and most highly skilled physicians in a holistic, patient-centered environment has made us a progressive leader in cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, diabetes and endocrine care, kidney transplants, and integrative medicine.

The network encompasses more than 3,700 employees, a 336-bed, JCAHO-accredited teaching hospital, The Lacks Cancer Center, The Wege Institute for Health and Learning, the Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, the Neuroscience Program, three fitness centers, five community outreach centers and affiliations with home health care, rehabilitation services, and the area's premier primary care network, Advantage Health Physician Network. Saint Mary’s recently was awarded the Governor’s Award of Excellence, the SCIP6 Commitment to Quality Award and named one of West Michigan’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to work for. Saint Mary’s is a member of Trinity Health, the country’s fourth-largest Catholic health care system.