Vision RT wins third prestigious Queen’s Award
International trade award is driven by innovative, non-contact healthcare technology
Originating in 2001, the company was co-founded by Drs Norman Smith (CEO), Ivan Meir, Mr Peter Kalms, and in 2003 joined by Gideon Hale (VP, Special Projects). Vision RT spent its first few years in the attic of the CEO’s parents-in-law, during which time initial prototype systems were installed in London and soon after at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the top cancer centres in the USA.
Today, more than 2,700 systems using Vision RT’s technology are in active clinical use in cancer clinics around the world. The company experienced over 80% growth in overseas sales between 2015 and 2019, employs over 300 people, and has >70 granted and >50 pending patents in the US, UK, Europe and beyond.
Vision RT’s products never need to have contact with patients, thus minimizing the risk of infection – an especially important advantage for cancer patients, who often have weakened immune systems. Products include AlignRT, used to ensure patients are in the correct position throughout radiation therapy, and SafeRT-ID, used to ensure the correct patient is identified for treatment every time.
Norman Smith, CEO of Vision RT said:
“We are extremely proud of what Vision RT has achieved in the past 19 years. From humble beginnings, we have become the global leader in surface guided radiotherapy, a field that is making treatments safer and more comfortable for patients and more economic and efficient for health systems. Our technology is becoming the standard of care, with benefit for every patient in every clinic around the world. We are honoured to receive another Queen’s Award in 2020 after winning two Queen’s Awards in 2016 and being finalist for the prestigious MacRobert Award in 2017.”
Margarita Knibbs, a patient who has been a beneficiary of Vision RT’s AlignRT technology at Genesis Care in Nottingham, said:
“Being given a diagnosis of breast cancer was devastating and life altering so having access to the best treatment was paramount to my recovery in early 2017 (both physically and psychologically). The Genesis Centre in Nottingham were able to offer me (as the first patient in Europe at the time) a “tattooless treatment” – everyone I knew who had received radiotherapy for breast cancer were left with permanent tattoos alongside their scars so this was a wonderful treatment option.
Being so lucky to have had the opportunity not to be left with tattoos has meant that, now my treatment is completed, I do not have the constant reminder of that chapter in my life and, as my scar fades, I feel “normal” again!
Thank you to all of you at Vision RT – I will be forever grateful.
¹ As identified by a U.S. News and World report
For further information, please contact:
Thomas Carter tcarter@www.visionrt.com Tel: +44 7795 127820
Photographs are available.
About Vision RT Ltd
Vision RT is the inventor of Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) and develops solutions using computer vision and AI to help ensure cancer patients’ radiation therapy is delivered safely. With systems in all 15 of the top 15 cancer centers of the “Best 50 US hospitals for Cancer”, we work tirelessly to improve the accuracy, efficiency, safety and comfort of radiation therapy.
Vision RT is part of the William Demant Invest (WDI) family, a leading Danish Medtech investor with a long-term investment perspective. The companies in WDI employ more than 18,000 people, with a total revenue of more than $3 billion.