TomoTherapy claims marketing boost from challenge to competitor

Madison, Wis. — TomoTherapy said on Tuesday that no cancer center took it up on a $250,000 challenge to demonstrate better results with a competitor's system, which TomoTherapy claimed was pushing speed over quality.

The Madison-based firm wanted to put its Hi-Art radiation therapy platform up against competitor Varian's RapidArc system. For a three-month period, the firm offered to work with eligible cancer centers to determine what metrics would be used to compare the two systems. In its statement Tuesday, TomoTherapy said the lack of entries demonstrated success. "It generated strong support from customers," said Del Coufal, TomoTherapy's vice president of marketing, in the statement.

The challenge was pointed: "In recent months, one of our fellow radiation therapy vendors seems to have shifted its primary focus to speed of delivery," TomoTherapy's web site read before the challenge ended. "While clinical efficiency is certainly important, we believe it is our industry's obligation to remain focused—first and foremost—on quality of care."