About Accuray
Accuray Corporate Backgrounder
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY) is a leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a treatment to those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System, the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy.
Company History
Accuray's history began in 1987 when John R. Adler, M.D., professor of neurosurgery and radiation oncology at Stanford University Medical Center, developed the CyberKnife System after completing a fellowship in Sweden with Lars Leksell, MD, the founder of radiosurgery. With the CyberKnife System, Adler’s vision was to develop a non-invasive robotic radiosurgery system with superior accuracy for treatment of tumors anywhere in the body. The revolutionary concept reached far beyond the practice of radiosurgery at the time, which restricted radiosurgery to the treatment of intracranial tumors.
Product Overview
The CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. Using image guidance technology and computer controlled robotics, the CyberKnife System is designed to continually track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment. Because of its extreme precision, the CyberKnife System does not require invasive head or body frames to stabilize patient movement, vastly increasing the system’s flexibility.
Company Milestones
1987 The CyberKnife System is developed
1990 Accuray Incorporated is founded.
1996 Japan approves the CyberKnife System for tumors in the head and neck.
1999 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clears the CyberKnife System for the treatment of tumors in the head and base of skull.
2001 FDA clears enhancements to the CyberKnife System for tumors anywhere in the body.
Korea and Taiwan approve the CyberKnife System for tumors in the head and neck.
2002 Europe approves the CyberKnife System for tumors anywhere in the body.
2003 Korea approves the CyberKnife System for tumors anywhere in the body.
2004 FDA clears Accuray’s Synchrony® Respiratory Tracking System.
Taiwan approves the CyberKnife System for tumors anywhere in the body.
2005 FDA clears Xsight™ Spine Tracking System.
Accuray introduces its fourth-generation CyberKnife System, which delivers faster treatment with greater flexibility, making extracranial radiosurgery easier.
China approves the CyberKnife System for tumors in the head and neck.
2006 Accuray opens new manufacturing and R&D facility.
FDA clears Xsight™ Lung Tracking System and 4D Treatment Optimization and Planning System.
2007 Accuray common stock begins trading on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol ARAY.
Meeting a Market Need
For more than 30 years, traditional radiosurgery systems, or systems that deliver precise, high dose radiation directly to a tumor, have been used primarily to destroy brain tumors. The CyberKnife System represents the next generation of radiosurgery systems, combining continual image-guidance technology with a compact linear accelerator that has the ability to move in three dimensions according to the treatment plan. This combination, called intelligent robotics, extends the benefits of radiosurgery to the treatment of tumors anywhere in the body.
Traditional radiosurgery systems have limited mobility and generally require the use of rigid frames attached to a patient's skull to provide a coordinate system to effectively target a tumor, restricting their ability to effectively
treat tumors outside of the brain. The CyberKnife® System does not have these limitations and, therefore, has increased flexibility to treat tumors throughout the body from many different directions, while minimizing the delivery of radiation to healthy tissue and vital organs.
The CyberKnife procedure requires no anesthesia, can be performed on an outpatient basis and allows for the treatment of patients that otherwise would not have been treated with radiation or who may not have been good candidates for surgery. In addition, the CyberKnife procedure avoids many of the potential risks and complications that are associated with other treatment options and is more cost effective than traditional surgery.
The World Health organization (WHO) estimates that there are 24.6 million people living with cancer worldwide, with approximately 10.9 million new cases being diagnosed every year. To date, Accuray has brought the superior tumor treatment capabilities of the CyberKnife System to more than 30,000 patients around the world, including those with tumors previously considered inoperable or surgically complex.
Since the launch of the CyberKnife System, Accuray has undertaken an aggressive strategy to develop system enhancements that facilitate clinicians’ ability to treat tumors anywhere in the body with the highest levels of accuracy. Currently, Accuray has installed more than 100 CyberKnife Systems worldwide and a large body of peer-reviewed papers supports its clinical practice. Accuray is committed not only to continuing its tradition of advancing the field of robotic radiosurgery, but also to providing its customers with the highest level of support in their ongoing efforts to fight cancer.
Headquarters
With more than 425 employees, Accuray is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and has offices in Hong Kong, Paris and Tokyo.
Management Team
Euan S. Thomson, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Wade Hampton
Senior Vice President, Chief Sales Officer
Eric P. Lindquist
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Robert E. McNamara
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Chris A. Raanes
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Christopher D. Mitchell
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
