The use of radiation in cancer diagnosis and treatment limits the effectiveness of current Immunotherapy. Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy Treatment (SFRT) could improve response. SFRT is an advanced radiation-oncology technique in which radiation dose is delivered in a deliberately non-uniform pattern across a tumor, instead of evenly covering the entire target.

Research is underway at a single institution MD Anderson, Houston, to show the clinical benefits of SFRT with the Convergent MiniBeam. The objective is to increase number of institutions researching Convergent MiniBeam in conjunction with immunotherapy to expand indications and stages under treatment.

The Convergent Bragg Lens, creates the Convergent MiniBeam, which is a focused X-ray beam, at depth similar to the Bragg Peak of a proton beam at a fraction of cost in terms of room shielding and equipment cost.

It is beneficial to use a proton-like beam for SFRT because it gives you extreme dose control—both laterally and in depth—while preserving the biological advantages of high peak doses.