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A picture review of the entire Elekta exhibit at ASTRO can be found on FLICKR.COM!

Click here to see what they got up to in the Windy City!

 

Elekta published this press release following their successful ASTRO meeting recently;

Elekta presents New Image-Guidance Solutions at Capital Markets Day in Chicago, USA

Stockholm, Sweden, November 02, 2009

At Elekta's Capital Markets Day held in connection to the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), in Chicago, USA, Elekta presented new tools for improved clinical precision, workflow efficiency and patient comfort. Highlights included Intuity(tm)*and Symmetry(tm)* advanced image-guidance solutions that build upon the company's existing expertise.

"We are proud to once again introduce practice-changing innovations in imaging that demonstrate Elekta's continued leadership in IGRT," says Tomas Puusepp, President and CEO of Elekta. Elekta presented new independent clinical research discussing the advantages of stereotactic radiosurgery for treating of multiple brain metastases in comparison to whole brain radiation therapy.

To read the entire article and the meetings highlights please click here.

 

 

Contact lraymond@brachysciences.com for more information on Anchor Marker now!

 

 

New technology for improved patient logistics for Proton therapy can also be readily applied in the conventional radiotherapy clinic.

We consider first the typical Proton therapy facility, where time in the treatment room is very much a critical path. The schematic below shows the use of external rooms dedicated for patient scanning and setup. The red lines indicate lines marked on the floor which are used in the optical guidance system for the movement of the motorised carriers used to transport patients on a dockable couchtop.

 

 

General description of the PatLog® system components:

The PatLog Patient Logistics System is a combination of separate products that together form a complete patient handling system for a proton therapy department.

The Dignity Loading Station facilitates easy and comfortable loading and initial setup of the patient on a Patient Table Plate, the Transport Trolley provides smooth transport from the Loading Station to diagnostic devices like CT or MR, further to the Proton Therapy treatment room and back to the Loading Station for comfortable unloading after the treatment.

The Patient Table Plate is docked on the patient table bases at each unit, CT, MR or Proton Gantry, and undocked for the transport between stations with the Transport Trolley.

The system has the following components:

• Patient Table Plates are manufactured from radiotranslucent, non-magnetic and non-conductive composite material to be suitable both for CT, MR, X-ray and Proton therapy. They are extremely stiff and rigid and provide very precise patient positioning and reliable support during all the procedures. They have a docking mechanism for secure and precise connection to the Docking Units on all the table bases at the diagnostic and therapy units. They also have indexing features for accurate positioning and repositioning of patient immobilization devices.

• Automated patient carriers provide easy transport between the Patient Loading Station and the different patient table bases. The patient carriers are designed to hold the Patient Table Plate securely during transport and easily disconnect and reconnect at Docking Stations. The Transport Trolleys are motorized and have a steering support system to make the transport safe and easy without twitches and jerks e.g. through narrow passages.

• Patient Loading Stations speed up the patient loading process and provides an easy, comfortable, dignified and reproducible transfer of the patient from standing up to horizontal position.

• Docking Units are mounted on each of the patient table bases at CT, MR, Simulator and Proton Therapy Units. They have features for quick and secure connection of the Patient Table Plates to each one of the patient table bases. The Docking Units are custom designed for each type of device, the Patient Positioning System (PPS) on the Proton Therapy Unit and the different table bases at the CT and MR units.

Reference: Out-of-Treatment Room Set-Up for Patient Positioning in External Beam Radiotherapy
L. Weber1, K. Westerlund2, I. Näslund3, and H. Dahlin2 WC 2009, IFMBE Proceedings 25/I, pp. 977–980, 2009
. ( Download pdf file )

The Dignity AirPlate™ is a 'dockable couchtop' which has been specially developed with low attenuation to help reduce skin reactions .

Uppsala June 1, 2009 The first low attenuation table plate from ONCOlog Medical has been installed and is used clinically at the Uppsala University Hospital.

ONCOlog Medical introduces an improved table plate for Radiology and Radiation Therapy. With lower attenuation and total homogeneous materials, the new AirPlate™ facilitates precise Radiation Therapy treatment techniques with better skin sparing.

“What we requested was almost wishful thinking, a perfectly homogeneous table plate with less than 2 % attenuation everywhere, raising the bar for flexibility and safety in radiotherapy. It is therefore very satisfying that ONCOlog’s AirPlate™ shows attenuation less than 1.7%. Our patients will now benefit from a lower and safer skin dose” says Ulf Isacsson Physicist at Uppsala University Hospital.

“Stereotactic Radiosurgery, SBRT, IMRT, IGRT, Rapid-Arc, VMAT, Cyberknife and Tomotherapy and Proton Therapy (Particle Therapy) treatment techniques all frequently require irradiation through the supporting table plate. ONCOlog’s new proprietary design combined with a specialized baking technique results in an extremely stiff, light weight and radio-translucent table plate which is better suited for modern radiation therapy techniques” says Hans Dahlin, President and CEO of ONCOlog Medical.

It is very easy to remove for cleaning - see the video at Oncolog Medical website

Intercomparison data shows the excellent geometry and low attenuation

Reference: Poster - Attenuation of photon beams by carbon fibre couch tops/inserts used in external beam radiotherapy
E Wieslander, L Weber, K Löfvander-Thapper and A Tomaszewicz Radiation Physics, Lund University Hospital, Sweden World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Munich 2009 .
( Download pdf file )

For further information in UK/Ireland please contact
Physics Instruments
Springfield House
Grantham
UK
NG31 7BG

Tel +44(0)1476569042 or +44(0)778 841 3432

email: sales@physics.uk.com

internet: www.physicsinstruments.co.uk

 

University College Hospital in London Introduces Treatments Delivering Faster Form of Radiotherapy


London, England, November 19th 2009 -- Two female brain tumor patients have become the first people in the south of England to be treated using a faster form of radiotherapy that extends more advanced care to more patients. RapidArc® technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) makes it possible to deliver image-guided IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) two to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT.

Clinicians at University College Hospital (UCH) carried out the pioneering treatments in October, making it only the second hospital in the country to introduce the technique routinely.  Both patients were treated using a single arc - or rotation - of the machine around the patient and the treatments were delivered in under two minutes, compared with 10-15 minutes for conventional IMRT. 

Click here to read more.

Varian Medical Systems Selected to Supply Major Project to Bring Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments to North of Portugal

Cancer Patients to Benefit from State-of-the-Art RapidArc and Novalis Tx Installations 

Porto, Portugal, October 30th 2009 –- Cancer patients in northern Portugal will gain access to advanced cancer treatments with the acquisition of seven new treatments machines from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) by the Instituto Português Oncologia, IPO Porto. The order, placed in August, includes the country’s first Novalis Tx™ device for advanced radiosurgery and two Trilogy® medical linear accelerators offering RapidArc® radiotherapy capability. 

The project involves complete reconstruction of an institute that first began treating cancer patients in 1974 and has offered top quality cancer care for north Portugal’s 3.6m inhabitants since. Four Clinac® DHX linear accelerators, ARIA™ oncology information software with 64 workstations and 15 treatment planning systems also form part of the largest single radiotherapy order ever placed in Portugal.  Varian has also signed an eight-year service contract with the institute.

 

Click here to read more.

Physicists and Clinicians at Leading Dutch Cancer Center Report Advances in Stereotactic Lung Tumor Treatments Using RapidArc Radiotherapy from Varian

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, November 30th 2009 -- Researchers from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam have reported that RapidArc® radiotherapy from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) has clinical advantages over earlier fixed-beam approaches to stereotactic treatments of lung tumors. Their findings, based on treatment of 85 medically inoperable lung cancer patients, were reported at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Chicago and a condensed version has been published in the ‘Green Journal’ (Radiotherapy and Oncology) 93 (2009).

“RapidArc enabled much faster treatment for these patients, with treatment in just six minutes, reducing the risk of patient motion and achieving superior dose conformity around the target while reducing dose to the chest wall by almost a third,” says Dr. Wilko Verbakel, medical physicist. “Dose conformity is extremely important when you are treating close to critical structures and the conformity you see with RapidArc is always better or at least as good as with fixed-beam IMRT and certainly better than achievable with ten static non-coplanar beams or dynamic conformal arc.”

Click here to read more.

Chance to train for a new job in Shropshire

Shropshire job hunters are being encouraged to consider a career as a therapy radiographer.

Despite the economic downturn qualified radiographers are in demand. To highlight the opportunities available locally an open evening will be held in the Radiotherapy Department at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The department offers placements to students studying at Birmingham City University which is the only university in the West Midlands to run a degree course in radiotherapy.

Click to download details

 

 

For the latest and best jobs in Radiotherapy with CancerpartnersUK, Mater Hospital, RIG Radiography and other leading organisations

http://www.radpro.org.uk/employment.php

 

 

 

 

 

• January 2010 What will the Linear Accelerator look like in the future! What will the Linear Accelerator look like in the future! A major feature edition, don’t miss this one!
  
  
• February 2010. Advances in Brachytherapy with a review of Prostate Cancer treatment.
  
  
• March 2010 Radiotherapy Company international website review!
  
  
• April 2010 Recruitment in Radiotherapy, a major feature edition
  
  
• May 2010 Your feature of choice, please let us know what it is?

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Please send you editorial, corporate or clinical, suggestions and any questions to admin@RadPro.eu

Duncan Hynd

December 2009

 

Season’s greetings and Happy Christmas from RadPro!