ZAP Surgical Premieres the ZAP-Axon Radiosurgery Planning System

ZAP Surgical Systems Inc. has unveiled the ZAP-Axon Radiosurgery Planning System,* an entirely new software platform designed to simplify, accelerate, and enhance treatment planning.

Part of the company’s ZAP-X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery system, Axon aims to set new benchmarks in radiosurgery brain tumor treatments. Axon is currently pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance and is expected to be available this spring.

Dedicated exclusively to cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), Axon eliminates the cumbersome user interfaces of comprehensive planning systems designed for full body use and myriad radiation delivery techniques. Instead, Axon provides a simplified, intuitive display with clarity in the presentation of sophisticated SRS data without superfluous input and output.

“Removing the clutter and complexity, Axon’s simplified design empowers clinicians to rapidly master state-of-the-art radiosurgery planning while reducing the number of clicks and awkward navigation typically encountered in legacy planning systems,” said ZAP Surgical Systems Founder/CEO John R. Adler, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. “I’ll go so far to say it’s so easy, even a brain surgeon can use it.”

Leveraging a Krylov quadratic optimizer, Axon also aims to improve treatment quality and preserve eloquent brain tissue by allowing clinicians to easily and quickly explore multiple alternative candidate plans. The traditional 20-minute optimization process can now be accomplished in just 30-45 seconds, according to ZAP Surgical. Such rapid-turn iterations enable clinicians to effectively explore additional optimal plan variables.

“Often faster than today’s standard planning systems, Axon provides an enhanced approach to multiple plan iteration evaluations,” said Alex Maslowski, Ph.D., vice president of Software at ZAP Surgical. “It allows clinicians to quickly and easily review multiple candidate plans to find the ideal treatment for each patient. With historical planning systems, time constraints often prohibited such an approach.”

The ZAP-X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery platform features a gyroscopic design that allows radiosurgical beams to be directed from thousands of potential angles, achieving precise tumor targeting while preserving healthy brain tissue and cognitive function. Moreover, ZAP-X’s vault-free and cobalt-free design eliminates the need for costly shielded treatment rooms and removes the traditional burden of managing radioactive isotopes, executives noted.

“Finally, the best SRS software meets the best SRS hardware,” Adler added. “Designed to easily handle the most challenging cranial cases, including trigeminal neuralgia, complex skull-based tumors, and even multiple brain metastases, Axon harnesses the full potential of ZAP-X’s combination of gyroscopic geometry, 8 circulator beam apertures, and robotic treatment table.”

ZAP Surgical Systems Inc. designs and manufactures the ZAP-X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery platform. The company was founded in 2014 by Dr. Adler, inventor of the CyberKnife system and founder of Accuray, Inc. The ZAP-X platform incorporates a vault-free design that typically eliminates the need for costly shielded treatment rooms. ZAP-X also uses a modern linear accelerator to eliminate legacy use of Cobalt-60.

* Pending FDA 510(k) clearance. Not currently available for sale.