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Diagnosis, surgery, radiation therapy, repeat. This is the typical process for a patient with a brain tumor.

Neurosurgeons must be extremely cautious when removing a tumor mass from a patient鈥檚 brain due to the brain鈥檚 vitally important role in all mental and physical functions, said Matthew Likens, president and CEO of GT Medical Technologies, a Tempe-based startup with a mission to improve the lives of brain tumor patients.

鈥淚f they鈥檙e too aggressive, then there鈥檚 a high likelihood they can affect very critical areas of the brain that affect memory and movement and speech,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淎s a result, they know they鈥檙e leaving residual tumor cells behind.鈥�

Those residual cells mean the tumor can come back. If the cells are cancerous, the .

Patients often must wait anywhere between two to four weeks for the surgical wound to heal. To prevent the tumor鈥檚 recurrence 鈥� stop it from growing back 鈥� patients undergo an intensive treatment called .

鈥淭hat is a miserable experience for the patients,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淢any of them lose their hair during the daily external beam radiation. They鈥檙e shuttled back and forth to a radiation center. Each day they鈥檙e reminded that 鈥榖y the way, you have a brain tumor, and we need to take care of it.鈥欌��

Enter the founders of GT Medical Technologies: Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon; Dr. Emad Youssef, a radiation oncologist; Dr. David Brachman, a radiation oncologist; Dr. Heyoung McBride, a radiation oncologist; and Theresa Thomas, a certified clinical research coordinator.

鈥淭hey were desperate for new treatment options for patients with brain tumors 鈥� especially those patients with recurrent brain tumors,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淚n spite of really great surgeons and really careful therapy afterward, tumors recur. And if you鈥檙e fortunate enough to survive that recurrence, and you have another procedure, then they recur again.鈥�

The GT Medical Technologies team developed a new way to treat patients: GammaTile. The small 鈥渢iles鈥� of collagen are infused with radiation.

After a successful brain tumor resection (removal), the surgeon places these tiles inside the tumor cavity in the patient鈥檚 brain, delivering two-and-a-half times stronger radiation than the external beam.

鈥淥n average, this takes about five minutes, so it doesn鈥檛 extend surgery time significantly,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淎fter the tiling is done, the surgical wound is closed, and within a day or two鈥� the patient is eligible to go home. And that鈥檚 it.鈥�

That鈥檚 it. No six-week therapy session and quarantine, no three-week waiting period before radiation, no time for the tumors to return.

鈥淭he founders commissioned an IRB-approved study at the in downtown Phoenix, and in that study they treated 108 patients across just about every type of brain tumor,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淎nd the safety results reported from that study were very impressive. This mode of radiation is as-safe or safer than today鈥檚 current standard of care.鈥�

All of the GT Medical Technologies founders were at BNI at one point, and three 鈥� Nakaji, Youssef and Thomas 鈥� still are. The company formed at LaunchPoint, a startup incubator in downtown Mesa. As such, it is 鈥渁n .鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e keeping it here,鈥� Likens said. 鈥淥ur chief technology officer, Dr. David Brachman, left his role as director of radiation oncology at Barrow just about a year ago, last March, and he joined us full-time to get his invention out into the marketplace as effectively as we can.鈥�

But the company鈥檚 plans are not purely local. Right now, GammaTile is in a limited market release, meaning it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration but does not yet have the funding to be everywhere at once.

GT Medical Technologies recently received its Series A round of funding, which allows for limited commercialization of the product, and the company is several months in.

The first patient treated in a hospital setting received GammaTile at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and two more were treated at the center on March 27.

Dr. Clark Chen, chairman of neurosurgery, is 鈥渟eeking to establish a culture of innovation at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in neurosurgery鈥� and took an immediate interest in GammaTile, Likens said.

鈥淥ur purpose is simply to improve the lives of patients with brain tumors, and we think GammaTile will accomplish that,鈥� he said.

The founders of GT Medical Technologies hope to replace the current standard of care for patients with brain tumors, which they believe to be insufficient, he said.

The company is still in its beginning stages, but it has big plans. With FDA clearance, the company can move forward commercializing its product in the U.S., and the founders hope to expand the product鈥檚 scope soon.

鈥淭his is certainly a global opportunity,鈥� Likens said.

In the future, GammaTile may be used in other parts of the body; Likens said the company has already claimed patents for 鈥渆xtra-cranial鈥� tumors outside the brain.

鈥淲e just think there are so many advantages to applying the radiation in this way that every patient should have the benefit from it.鈥�