Calypso Medical Studies Show Potential for Improving Radiotherapy Treatment Accuracy

More than 30 Calypso-related scientific studies presented at ASTRO
SEATTLE & CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Calypso Medical Technologies, Inc., a developer of real-time localization
technology used for the precise tracking of tumor targets, today announced
Calypso`s real-time tracking technology is included in 36 scientific
presentations and posters at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for
Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), now underway at McCormick Place in
Chicago. These studies highlight the potential applications of the technology
and the benefits associated with real-time tracking of the prostate, for which
the Calypso® System is currently commercially available.

The topics of prostate-related studies include prostate SBRT, prone prostate
treatment, workflow efficiency, and dose escalation. Studies of investigational
applications, such as high-velocity pancreatic and lung tumors, will also be
presented. Calypso is exhibiting during this conference at booth 1231 and
Calypso Systems will also be displayed in collaboration with Siemens Healthcare
at booth 1829 and Varian Medical Systems at booth 2229.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the leading cancer
in men in the United States with 192,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The
prostate is also the most common target for radiation therapy in the body. Since
the radiation beam is more precisely focused on the tumor target, Calypso`s
technology allows clinicians to more tightly contour the radiation dose to the
prostate and minimize unwanted dose to adjacent healthy tissues.

"Calypso allows us to track the position of the prostate during prolonged,
high-dose SBRT treatments and provides the flexibility to stop the treatment if
the prostate moves outside the intended field of radiation," said Constantine
Mantz, M.D., at 21st Century Oncology in Cape Coral, Florida. "Without Calypso,
we are really just flying blind."

In addition to prostate-related studies, data is being presented from an
investigational study demonstrating the utility of the Calypso System in
tracking tumor movement in the canine lung.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more people die
from lung cancer than any other cancer type. In 2005, the most recent year for
which statistics are currently available, lung cancer accounted for more deaths
than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined. In that year, 196,687 people
were diagnosed with lung cancer and 159,217 people died from the disease.

"The lung often undergoes dramatic movement and distortion during normal
respiration, sighing, and coughing, making targeting an extremely complicated
task to handle," said Martin Mayse, M.D., an interventional pulmonologist at
Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and an investigator on the study. "With the
Calypso System, we will have real-time data that tells us exactly what is going
on while the patient is breathing. We will not have to make assumptions
anymore."

"The research we have conducted clearly shows that the bronchoscopic insertion
of an anchored transponder is not only safe, but also does not migrate," said
Parag Parikh, M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology and biomedical
engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. "This opens up the use of
electromagnetic tracking for lung tumors."

The Calypso System will be the topic of several scientific sessions, including
an independent investigation conducted at the German Cancer Research Center
(Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg in which researchers
demonstrated real-time multi-leaf collimator tracking, as well as a study
conducted at Stanford University demonstrating Calypso-guided dynamic multi-leaf
collimator (DMLC) target tracking with Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy (IMAT).
Dose distributions to moving targets with DMLC tracking were superior to those
without tracking.

"We continue to be encouraged with a growing body of research that suggests
promise in areas of the body that have proved difficult to treat effectively,"
said Eric R. Meier, president and chief executive officer of Calypso Medical.
"The ability to monitor tumor motion and automatically adapt treatment may lead
to improved treatment accuracy and delivery."

Information about the oral presentations featuring Calypso technology referenced
in this news release is listed below:

* Long-term Interaction and Tissue Response of a Bronchoscopically Implanted,
Anchored Electromagnetic Transponder in the Canine Lung, Mayse et al, Washington
University, St. Louis
* Real-time Tumor Position Monitoring and Dynamic Dose Adaptation: Geometrical
and Dosimetric Accuracy of an Integrated Tracking System, Oelfke et al,
DKFZ,Heidelberg, Germany
* Electromagnetic-guided DMLC Tracking Enables Motion Management for Intensity
Modulated Arc Therapy, Keall et al, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.

Additional Calypso-related oral presentations include:

* First Report of Real-time Tumor Tracking in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer
Using the Calypso® System, Metz et al, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pa.
* Patient-reported Reduction in Acute GU and GI Side Effects for Prostate Cancer
Patients Treated with 81Gy IMRT Using Reduced PTV Margins and Electromagnetic
Tracking, Khan et al, 21st Century Oncology, Santa Monica, Calif.

Also highlighted as a work-in-progress will be Calypso`s Dynamic Edge™ Gating
Technology* that will utilize Calypso`s real-time target position information to
enable and disable the treatment beam in response to motion of the prostate. The
treatment beam can be automatically held when the target position goes outside
the motion thresholds and automatically re-enabled when the target is within the
motion thresholds.

"Dynamic Edge Gating Technology is the next step in utilizing the Calypso System
to facilitate precision treatment delivery approaches. By automatically enabling
and disabling the beam in response to target motion, we can further enhance
highly accurate treatment for organs which invariably move during treatment,"
said Ed Vertaschitsch, senior vice president, operations of Calypso Medical.

Also known as GPS for the Body®, Calypso`s proprietary technology utilizes
miniature implanted Beacon®
transponders to provide precise, continuous information on the location of
the tumor during external beam radiation therapy. Any movement by the patient,
including internal movement of the tumor, may cause the radiation to miss its
intended target and hit adjacent healthy tissue. In contrast to other tumor
targeting solutions, the Calypso System provides continuous tumor position
information, objectively and without ionizing radiation, thereby enabling an
increase in the radiation delivered to the tumor while reducing radiation
misapplied to normal tissue.

About Calypso Medical

Calypso Medical Technologies, Inc. is a Seattle-based, privately held medical
device company. The Company`s proprietary tumor localization system utilizes
miniaturized implanted devices (Beacon® electromagnetic transponders) to
continuously, accurately and objectively track the location of tumors for
improved accuracy and management of radiation therapy delivery. The technology
is designed for body-wide cancers commonly treated with radiation therapy. The
products are FDA 510(k) cleared for use in the prostate and post-operative
prostatic bed. The Company has strategic relationships with Varian Medical
Systems, Siemens Healthcare, Elekta Corporation and Philips Medical. Additional
information can be found at http://www.calypsomedical.com.

* This technology is a concept device under development and not available for
sale.

Schwartz Communications
Wendy Mejia/Krystin Hayward, 781-684-0770
calypsomedical@schwartz-pr.com
or
Calypso Medical
David Betz, 206-330-2621
dbetz@calypsomedical.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009