ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc. today announced that Dr. John R. Adler, CEO of ZAP and Emeritus Dorothy & TK Chan Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology at Stanford University received the esteemed Janeway Medal at the annual American Radium Society (ARS) meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition to receiving the medal, Dr. Adler also delivered the Janeway Lecture entitled “Sometimes an Entrepreneur, Always a Doctor” to the meeting’s clinical delegation.
Since 1933, ARS has sponsored the Janeway Lecture in memory of Dr. Henry Janeway (1873-1921), a celebrated American physician and pioneer of radiation medicine. Founded in 1916, ARS is the oldest society devoted to the study and treatment of cancer. ARS’s mission is to promote the multi-disciplinary and collegial study of all aspects of cancer.
As part of the Janeway Medal award, Dr. Adler was recognized for his early work in the radiosurgical treatment of spine tumors, acoustic neuromas, as well as trigeminal neuralgia. Dr. Adler was also recognized for his enterprising work in developing surgical robots, including the CyberKnife® as well as ZAP-X® radiosurgery systems, that many neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists rely on today to treat cancer patients.
Dr. Adler graduated from Harvard College in 1976 and Harvard Medical School in 1980. From 1980 to 1987 he completed his neurosurgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Adler subsequently completed his radiosurgery fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, where he worked directly with Professor Lars Leksell, the original pioneer of radiosurgery (SRS) and inventor of the Gamma Knife®. In 1987 Dr. Adler joined the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine.
“The American Radium Society is honored to award the Janeway Medal to Dr. Adler,”, said Dr. James Metz, ARS President and Chair of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. “Dr. Adler’s scientific contributions to the continued advancement of radiosurgery, including the invention of several key technology platforms, have had a profound impact on the way modern radiation medicine is delivered today.”
“I’m incredibly flattered to be honored with this distinction,” said Dr. John R. Adler. “Radiosurgery is perhaps one of the most important medical advancements in generations, and I’m very pleased that ARS works diligently in raising awareness and developing related collaboration across medical specialties.”
Today the focus of Dr. Adler’s work is to reduce the barriers and costs of world-class radiosurgery and ultimately make this potentially life-saving procedure accessible to more patients in more locations. This passion has culminated in his latest invention, the ZAP-X® Gyroscopic Radiosurgery® platform. ZAP-X is recognized for being the first and only vault-free SRS delivery system, thereby eliminating the need for providers to build costly shielded radiation treatment rooms. Utilizing a modern linear accelerator to produce radiation, ZAP-X is also the first and only dedicated radiosurgery system to no longer require Cobalt-60 radioactive sources, consequently eliminating the significant efforts and costs to host, secure and regularly replace radioactive isotopes.