The founder of CYRPA explains why not all patient positioning lasers are created equal

I sat down with Pascal Boulinière at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) in Barcelona, Spain to talk about his company CYRPA.

Pascal explains his story leading up to the founding of the company in 2010, the technology behind the CYRPA product line, and what the future holds for the business.

John: How did CYRPA begin?

Pascal: For many years, I worked on the design of the electronic device used by many ophthalmologists to measure myopia. Before this device, myopia was measured through trial and error using different lenses. Several years later, my co-founders and I, all from different backgrounds, came up with an innovative proposal for the laser positioning market. We got to know more about the product line by working with many customers. CYRPA was formed based on our own experiences.

John: How is CYRPA different than other patient positioning lasers?

Pascal: CYRPA has many key advantages over other radiotherapy lasers. Probably the most crucial is the ability to calibrate the lasers easily and automatically with the SmartPhantom. Lasers are automatically adjusted to an accuracy of +/– 0.1mm within 10 minutes. This is beyond the level of accuracy a human being can attain.

Calibration is also needed less often with CYRPA than with other manufacturer’s lasers. We had one hospital go 2 years without a calibration. This is simply due to the quality of the mechanical construction of the device. They are very stable.

Prior to installing CYRPA, one of our hospitals was calibrating their lasers every week.  The physicists didn’t have time for this and it couldn’t be done during the week because patients were being treated. So a member of the radiotherapy team would come in on Sundays to calibrate. With CYRPA this problem does not exist and more time can be spent on patient care.

We are also unique because CYRPA offers the clinician the choice of whether to use red or green diodes at the touch of a button. No other system allows for both colors. You can literally try both colors for each patient prior to positioning. We also offer the choice of blue lasers. Double-diode technology is another important advantage of CYRPA lasers.

John: Tell us more about the SmartPhantom?

Pascal: The SmartPhantom is a device that automatically calibrates the laser system, available both for the treatment room and the simulation room. The technology behind the SmartPhantom is the same for the radiotherapy laser system as it is for the CT simulation laser system. The big difference is the positioning of the system on the couch for CT or the linear accelerator.

The SmartPhantom RT is used in the linac room and has three laser pointers that setup in just minutes. It is compatible with all models of linear accelerators. It took us a year of development to find a solution that was priced affordably and had the right technology.

John: What is the future of CYRPA?

Pascal: We are no longer a start-up. Our product is fully developed and we have a growing customer base, with 150 installations around the world.

We are the highest standard in patient positioning lasers for both the simulation and treatment rooms. Our goal is to build awareness of this throughout the radiation oncology world, since many centers still do not know about us.

C-RAD, AB, a publicly traded company in Sweden, has purchased a minority stake in our business. We hope that with this new partnership we will be bringing more exciting technological development to market.

CYRPA lasers are distributed in the U.S. by Radiology Oncology Systems, Inc. Click here to learn more.