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Welcome to the July 2010 e-Lectron e-news. This month’s feature is Radiation protection, shielding and QA in radiotherapy with a focus on new tools for the radiotherapy physics department.
July interactive index, just click to go there…
• What’s new on RadPro…A brand new website
• Featured Website…New multi-media RadPro website online now!
• e-Lectron feature…Radiation protection, shielding and QA in radiotherapy with a focus on new tools for the radiotherapy physics department
• What the papers said…A look back at Radiotherapy news in the media in June
• Radiotherapy Hot news… Industry news items
• Latest Radiotherapy jobs…New jobs online
• Radiology update…www.CompareRad.com
• Upcoming e-Lectron feature listings
A brand new Multi-Media website!
Welcome to the new multi-media www.RadPro.eu international website for radiotherapy professionals. We have completely redesigned the website to embrace all that is new in the “information technology” world and combined that with all of your international recruitment needs!
There are product videos in a new “YouTube style” video player, blogs, webcons and webinars, interactive news items and many new and exciting web-tools, empowering radiotherapy professionals worldwide. The new Virtual Company Exhibition has an enhanced product search function with a new template based on an innovative product weblink directory. We hope you like it!
Please send us for inclusion on the new site your product and clinical videos, links to your corporate or favourite external radiotherapy blog sites (we will create a dedicated blog banner for each blog on our blog page) dates, times and content for all of your upcoming online internet based web-presentations and any comments or suggestions to admin@RadPro.eu.
www.RadPro.eu the new multi-media website for radiotherapy!
Radiation protection, shielding and QA in radiotherapy
with a focus on new equipment for radiotherapy physics departments.
Knauf take the lead in X-ray protection!
As a leading manufacturer of plasterboard with two production plants in the UK, Knauf Drywall continue to innovate with Safeboard - a simple and highly effective alternative to lead sheeting in the walls of X-ray facilities. By combining the properties of Barium Sulphate with gypsum, Knauf Drywall has created plasterboard that is ideal for medical, dental, veterinary and industrial environments.
Traditional lead-lined boards are heavy, expensive and time consuming to cut and install, with the need for additional lead strips behind every joint. Often, additional plasterboards are required to suit fire and acoustic requirements.
From their initial implementation for medical use over a hundred years ago to the latest techniques we are familiar with, X-Ray technology has advanced considerably. The methods for protection from these potentially harmful rays had not - until now.
Knauf Safeboard brings X-Ray protection, fire and acoustic performance together in one easy-to-install board.
Knauf Safeboard is simple to fix as it cuts and snaps like ordinary plasterboard and joints are sealed with simple-to-use Knauf Safeboard Jointing Compound - meaning that savings in time and cost can be made. It is also significantly lighter in weight for easier handling and therefore improves the health and safety of the installer.
To read more click here: Doc 10 PDF
To download a Safeboard brochure click here: Doc 11 PDF
Contact information
Email: kd@web-response.co.uk
Website: www.knaufdrywall.co.uk
Cyberknife bunker shielding project at Mount Vernon Hospital completed by Calder Industrial Materials Limited
Lead shielding for the brand new Cyberknife bunker at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, London has been manufactured and recently installed by Calder Industrial Materials (CIM)
CIM were contracted to design, supply and install the specialist lead shielding and door to the bunker building contractors, SDC.
The installation of the “Chevron plate” lead shielding specially designed for radiotherapy bunker shielding work and bunker upgrades started on the 12th January 2010 and CIM installed approximately 102 tons. The bunker wall lead thickness varied from 50mm to 300mm and the work was successfully completed in only 8 weeks.
DHA supplied CIM with a specially designed, shielded DIB heavy swing door for the entrance to the bunker, finished in a bespoke wood veneer.
CIM have also recently won another contract to supply and install “Chevron Plate” lead shielding and a sliding, heavy shielding door to the new Tomotherapy bunker upgrade at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Pic:The Company’s “Chevron plate” product shown is an international market leader
and is available in various shielding thicknesses and lengths.
CIM are able to provide a completely turnkey solution for radiotherapy bunker shielding offering design, manufacture, installation and full project management and will be attending and exhibiting at the ESTRO congress in Barcelona in September.
For more information contact Andy Carr, sales manager on a.carr@caldergroup.co.uk
or visit www.calderlead.co.uk
DHA can design, supply and install a variety of heavy shielding doors in both swing and sliding variations for all Cyberknife, Tomotherapy and conventional Linac installations. For more information on our doors contact Duncan Hynd on duncan@dha.co.uk or visit www.dha.co.uk
Duncan Hynd Associates Ltd
Neutron shielding services available from DHA
DHA and Radiation Technology Limited have teamed up to provide a cost effective and comprehensive shielding design service for both new and existing radiotherapy Linac bunkers.
Alan Sherwin, CEO of Radiation Technology Limited, is a long-established authority on neutron shielding, and has particular expertise in the design of high-energy Linac facilities. Alan pioneered the use of neutron-absorbent room/maze linings in the early 1980’s, and most of the lined Linac mazes in place today were built to, or derived from, his innovative designs. RTL provides detailed practical advice and guidance, based on 3D bunker modelling and Monte-Carlo calculations, accurately predicting the shielding required and it’s optimal location. RTL’s designs now incorporate its own latest cost-efficient shielding products such as n-Modex neutron moderating granules and BoraTex boron-faced paper for capture of thermal neutrons. New simplified methods have greatly reduced installation costs. DHA are providing RTL with sales and marketing support. Installations in Nottingham, Portsmouth and Inverness have recently taken place. Neutron shielding is required for open maze bunker entrances with Linac energies in excess of 12MV.
Shielding Doors solutions available from DHA
DHA have recently installed a selection of swing and sliding automated shielding doors at the new Mount Vernon Hospital Cyberknife project, St James Oncology centre in Leeds and also at Parkside Oncology Centre in Wimbledon along with new radiotherapy centres in Ireland. Manufactured by DIB in Dijon, France, the doors are of very high quality, meeting all European standards, and can be tailored for any Linac photon energy, with or without an entrance maze. There are sliding-door variations running on rails or ceiling mounts, and swing doors, addressing all possible requirements. These door systems offer great value, are easily serviced, and come with a twenty-year guarantee. They are suitable for any Linac, Tomotherapy or Cyberknife room (we have already worked with all these companies in Europe) and come finished in a choice of bespoke pre-painted RAL colours, stainless steel or wood veneers.
Lastly, we have also recently installed a 44 tonne sliding door at the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron facility in Harwell. Very heavy doors, running on rail systems below the floor are also a speciality product, especially for direct entry, space saving Linac bunkers!
Contact Duncan Hynd at Duncan@dha.co.uk for more information or view www.dha.co.uk
Oncology Imaging Systems Ltd
OIS launch new quality control software for radiotherapy and medical imaging
QUALIMAGIQ® from QualifFormD SARL
Developed in association with the Image Video and Communication Team at the Research Institute of Communication and Cybernetics in Nantes (IRCCyN), QUALIMAGIQ® is a modular software solution which allows you to organise and analyse the quality control procedures (QC) of Radiotherapy Treatment devices, Computed Tomography scanners, Gamma-Cameras, Digital Radiology, and MRI devices.
QUALIMAGIQ® is easy, comprehensive and precise. The software is built around a common platform where interfaces, methods of analysis and operating concepts are identical, regardless of the modality. It has 2 modes for the recovery, decoding and storage of DICOM images.
Contact emma@oncologyimaging.co.uk
To read more click here: PDF 1
Imaging Equipment Ltd
3D Dosimetry Comes Full Circle!
The Sun Nuclear 3D Scanner offers the easiest setup, most objectivity and the best consistency available;
The 3D Scanner provides;
Advanced Design: Ring drive mechanism positions detector in any relevant 3D location
No need for a tank shift due to extending scanning ranges
Better Data: Eliminates setup subjectivity which affects data quality
Detector maintains consistent orientation for in-plane, cross-plane, and diagonal scans
Narrow side of scanning detector remains parallel to beam edge, reducing dose volume averaging
Simple to Setup and Easy to Use: Automatic servo levelling, water surface, beam centre detection
Standard Sun Nuclear power/data cable
Efficient: Maintain consistent detector orientation without moving tank
Setup tank once for all required scans (no shifts required)
Software: Completely new 3D Scanner software application
Customizable user interface and measurement scripts
Database for effective data management
The Sun Nuclear 3D Scanner is distributed in the UK by Imaging Equipment Ltd.
Contact: Jessica Johnson, Marketing Manager
Email: jessica@imagingequipment.co.uk Website: www.imagingequipment.co.uk
1. Doctors have made a dramatic advance in the understanding of breast cancer, which could shorten treatment, save the NHS millions of pounds and mean that fewer women undergo mastectomies.
The discovery gives new hope to women facing Britain's commonest cancer, whose incidence has doubled in the past 40 years. Doctors cannot prevent the disease, but they are starting to reduce the impact of the diagnosis on a woman's life. More than 45,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and face the uncertainty, discomfort and anxiety of prolonged treatment.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/dramatic-advance-in-treatment-of-breast-cancer-1992682.htmlOne shot of radiotherapy could save breast cancer patients weeks of tiring treatment
Women with breast cancer could soon be offered a single 30-minute shot of radiotherapy, sparing them six weeks of exhausting treatment. Thousands could benefit from the radiation technique that can be carried out in just one hospital visit. Widespread use could save the NHS at least £15 million a year, according to findings from a major international trial.
However, Martina Navratilova has made a stunning recovery – and was today back at the All England Club watching Wimbledon and looking ahead to new challenges. The nine-time Wimbledon champion, who made her debut at the tournament 37 years ago, announced in April that she had the disease. But, after a lumpectomy and six weeks of radiotherapy, the 53-year-old was able to celebrate the end of her treatment last Wednesday and an excellent prognosis.
Killed by a sunbed: Mother-of-eight dies aged 31 just six months after being diagnosed with cancer
…But tests showed the cancer had already spread and it proved resistant to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
5.Hospitals stuck in a time-warp
GPs have a much closer bond with their computers than hospital doctors, says the Patient from Hell
…But my friend Bill, whose tardy diagnosis for prostate cancer I chronicled last November ('Taking care of the Bill'), experienced the defects of this classic model two weeks ago. He had undergone two months of hormone therapy to de-bulk the cancer and six weeks of radiotherapy to zap it. So he came to his outpatients' appointment, which would tell him whether the treatment had worked, with some trepidation.
Read more: http://www.smarthealthcare.com/patient-hospitals-gps-computers-surgeries-02jun10
Company name change!
Gulmay Medical Ltd have recently changed the name of their business to Xstrahl Ltd. There has been no change in management and VAT and registered company details remain the same.
Website: www.xstrahl.com Sales and product enquiries: support@xstrahl.com
Service email: support@xstrahl.com Telephone: 01276 66266 Fax Machine: 01276 65599
NUCLETRON SIGNS TWO-YEAR REFERENCE SITE AGREEMENT WITH ST. JAMES’S INSTITUTE OF ONCOLOGY, LEEDS FOR VOLUMETRIC MODULATED ARC THERAPY (VMAT) PLANNING SOFTWARE
Nucletron recently signed a two-year reference site agreement with Professor David Thwaites and Mr. David Fox of the St. James’s Institute of Oncology, Leeds, part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. This will bring Oncentra Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) optimisation and planning technology to Yorkshire.
The technique has already been trialled by the Institute’s Radiotherapy Physics Department using the proven VMAT capability of Elektra Linear Accelerators.
Professor Thwaites comments, “We hope to be treating our first VMAT patient in the very near future. Not only will this technique offer an improved quality of treatment for patients, but it has the potential to do this with reduced radiation doses delivered to healthy tissue in patients and also significantly reduced treatment times.”
To read more click here: PDF Doc 2
GERMAN CANCER PATIENTS ARE THE FIRST TO GET NUCLETRON’S MOST ADVANCED, FAST VMAT RADIATION TREATMENT
Cancer patients at the University Hospital Regensburg, Germany are among the first in the world to receive treatment with Nucletron’s Oncentra VMAT®. Oncentra VMAT is a truly independent and fully open rotational planning solution within the Oncentra external beam treatment planning system, which supports image-guided photon, electron and proton treatment delivery. The open and flexible architecture provides independence and allows for the fastest calculation times when creating VMAT plans for any brand of linac. Patients benefit from treatments that are shorter in duration with a radiation dose that is targeted with unprecedented precision.
To read more click here: Doc 3 PDF
Head & Neck Cancer Patient in Switzerland Becomes World’s First UNIQUE Radiotherapy Patient
A 55-year-old female head & neck cancer patient has become the first person in the world to be treated clinically using a new, advanced radiotherapy delivery device from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). Clinicians in Switzerland carried out the treatment this week using a UNIQUE™ single energy medical linear accelerator to deliver fast and precise RapidArc® radiotherapy, the leading solution for arc-based treatments.
To read more click here: Doc 4 PDF
Varian Medical Systems Equips International Oncology’s First Comprehensive Cancer Center in India
Fortis International Oncology Centre, aimed at bringing advanced radiotherapy to greater number of cancer patients, officially opened The first in a planned series of new radiotherapy centers aimed at improving access to advanced treatments for millions of Indian cancer patients has been officially opened in Noida. Fortis International Oncology Centre, a joint initiative between International Oncology and Fortis Healthcare, is equipped with advanced radiotherapy equipment and software from Varian Medical Systems
To read more click here: Doc 5 PDF
Prostate Cancer Patient First in Spain to Receive Fast and Precise RapidArc® Radiotherapy Treatment from Varian
Clinicians at Institut Catala d’Oncologia (ICO) in Barcelona have carried out the first treatment in Spain using RapidArc® radiotherapy from Varian Medical Systems. A 73-year-old prostate cancer patient from Barcelona has become the first patient in the country to receive the fast and efficient treatment.
To read more click here: Doc 6 PDF
Al Amal Hospital in Qatar Commences Treatments Using Fast and Efficient RapidArc Radiotherapy Technology from Varian Medical Systems
Qatar Royal Family and Other Dignitaries Recognize Landmark for Only Radiotherapy Department in State of Qatar at Grand Opening Ceremony. One of the leading cancer centers in the Middle East has become among the first in the region to introduce fast and efficient RapidArc® radiotherapy treatments from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). Al Amal Hospital in Doha, Qatar, has treated nine brain cancer, prostate cancer and head & neck cancer patients with RapidArc since commencing treatments in early May, and it now plans to roll out the technology for many more indications.
To read more click here: Doc 7 PDF
Riverside & University of Virginia Radiosurgery Center Surpasses 1,000(th) Patient Mark, High Demand for Ultra-Targeted Brain and Body Cancer Therapy
Dedicated to radiosurgery, Virginia center uses Elekta's Leksell Gamma Knife for brain tumors and Elekta Synergy S for cancers in the bodyOn March 4, a 69-year-old male patient was Riverside & University of Virginia Radiosurgery Center's 1,000(th) patient to be treated since the facility opened in 2006. Clinicians used their Leksell Gamma Knife® 4C to treat a metastatic melanoma in the patient's brain.
Coincidentally, the patient also had undergone radiosurgery earlier for lung and chest wall nodules, benefiting that time by Riverside's Elekta Synergy® S. Whether the disease is intra- or extra-cranial, Riverside can offer patients a highly targeted radiosurgical solution.
To read more click here: Doc 8 PDF
Radiotherapy Industry Works with IAEA to Create Affordable Options for Developing Countries
Vienna, 22 June 2010 Across the developing world, cancer is on the rise. Once thought of as a 'rich world' disease, cancer is a looming public health catastrophe across low- and middle-income countries. The IAEA is working to make radiotherapy accessible in such settings, and has challenged the makers of radiotherapy equipment to lower the prohibitive costs of the technology to increase access in developing countries. Several of the world's largest manufacturers of diagnostic and radiotherapy equipment have responded to this challenge, and are meeting with doctors from developing countries and IAEA officials this week to commence work on this initiative.
To read more click here: Doc 9 PDF
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http://www.radpro.org.uk/jobs/employment.php
August 2010: ESTRO 29 Barcelona, 12th to 16th September 2010 manufacturers exhibition and congress special preview
September 2010: Treatment Planning Systems and Virtual Simulation update
October 2010: Brachytherapy special feature edition
November 2010: KV treatment systems in Radiotherapy
Second November main feature: International Recruitment in Radiotherapy
December 2010: A focus on radiotherapy on the internet, radiotherapy blogs and international company website reviews!
January 2011: Advances in Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Radiotherapy
February 2011: Your feature subject of choice, contact admin@RadPro.eu
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and keep up to date with the latest news in radiotherapy as it happens!
Duncan Hynd, July 2010