Open Access Breast Couch

Project Overview

The 'Open Access Breast Couch' developed within UGent won the golden Henry van de Velde Award 25 (Business Innovation category) and the public's choice award. This prone positioning platform reduces the side effects of radiotherapy for breast cancer. In traditional therapy, patients lie on their backs, which means that part of the lungs may be irradiated. The risks are significant: patients can experience shortness of breath, and long-term smokers face an increased risk of lung cancer. Damage to the heart and coronary arteries is also possible. With this platform, radiation is administered while the patient lies prone, allowing the breast to fall away from the heart and lungs, significantly reducing radiation exposure to these organs. The spinoff Radion-D brought the device beyond university walls and developed a commercial variant with enhanced usability and manufacturability.

Key Objectives

• Reduce radiation exposure to heart and lungs during breast cancer radiotherapy
• Improve patient comfort and safety during treatment
• Develop a commercially viable medical device that meets regulatory requirements
• Enable prone positioning therapy to minimize long-term side effects of radiotherapy

Outcomes

✓Won golden Henry van de Velde Award 25 in Business Innovation category
✓Received the public's choice award
✓Successfully commercialized through spinoff company Radion-D
✓Two doctoral dissertations completed (Bert Boute and Max Schoepen)
✓Significantly reduced radiation exposure to critical organs during breast cancer treatment
✓Enhanced patient comfort and safety while maintaining treatment efficacy

Publications

Expanding the possibilities of prone crawl positioning for breast radiotherapy

Schoepen, Max • Ghent University

Prone crawl breast couch: analysis of the translational development of a patient support device for breast cancer radiotherapy

Schoepen, Max; Detand, Jan; Veldeman, Liv; Van Hulle, Hans; Vakaet, Vincent; De Neve, Wilfried • Design Health

Crawl positioning improves set-up precision and patient comfort in prone whole breast irradiation

Deseyne, Pieter et al. • Scientific Reports

Development of a new prone patient support device for radiation therapy of breast and regional lymph nodes

Boute, Bert • Ghent University

The relation between patient discomfort and uncompensated forces of a patient support device for breast and regional lymph node radiotherapy

Boute, Bert et al. • Applied Ergonomics

The prototyping process of a patient support device for radiotherapy of breast and regional lymph nodes in prone position

Boute, Bert; De Neve, Wilfried; Detand, Jan • Design4Health Conference

Potential benefits of crawl position for prone radiation therapy in breast cancer

Boute, Bert et al. • Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics