Medical Oncology
Elekta VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) is Elekta’s next generation arc therapy technique that establishes new standards for radiation therapy treatment speed and dose reduction to the patient. With Elekta VMAT, single or multiple radiation beams sweep in uninterrupted arc(s) around the patient, dramatically speeding treatment delivery. Doctors can use Elekta VMAT with complete or partial arc(s) to reduce treatment times from the eight to twelve minutes required for “conventional” radiation therapy to as few as two minutes.
read more at http://www.elekta.com/VMAT
Fairmont Hotel
USAir from Philadelphia to Chicago for a Medical Oncology Advisory Board meeting and our Annual Medical Oncology Summit. The meeting was held at the Fairmont, a beautiful hotel near the Navy Pier. As usual, the slowest part of the trip was the leg between O’Hare and the city. Once there, Chicago is one of my favorites.
The Advisory Board Meeting was Wednesday, beginning bright and early and lasting through the day. Our Advisers are a terrific mix if professionals – Nurses, Pharmacists, Physicians, Administrators…. representing the spectrum of our US Medical Oncology user base. What an amazing day! Lots of great discussion with “Meaningful Use” and HITECH/ARRA the lead topic. As we prepare for the behemoth of this program, it is so clear to me how critically important this Advisory Board is to our success. It’s not just preparing MOSAIQ for certification, but also our customer base for what they’ll need to do to qualify. Spreading the word in every which way, including through this board, will be critical to success.
Lots of other topics were discussed, including QOPI support, our ever improving UI, some improvements in chemotherapy dose adjusting, and one of my favorite new MOSAIQ features – the availability of ALL MOSAIQ Assessment data elements as eScribe document merge fields. The MD’s will love this – it’s going to make their lives so much easier. The icing on the cake will be the ability to import, export and therefore share the assessment views and the eScribe templates. Both will be available in MOSAIQ 2.3, though Assessment import/export is available now. I don’t mean to sound too promotional here, but this one is really a biggie.
Through the course of the meeting, one statement in particular, made by Rajinder Dhada who has taken an interest in these meetings, is worth repeating here. “It’s the ultimate in adaptive therapy”, he said, with reference to a discussion on how on-the-fly changes to chemotherapy administration orders should be managed. That says it all.
The day was capped by dinner with our advisers in a hotel restaurant – dare I say – called “Aria”.
Our Advisers
A nice respite to end a long day’s work, even if the name wasn’t so fitting.
Next day began the Medical Oncology Summit meeting. I have to confess I was only able to stick my head in a few times over the day because of conflicting meetings, but what I saw was a real surprise. For the opening session, not only was it a bigger room than I had expected, but it was completely filled to near capacity – standing room only. Wow! I’m told it is our largest attendance thus far,
standing room only
and having been to most of these Annual Summits, I must say we’ve come a long way. No surprise that “Meaningful Use”, HITECH/ARRA were at the top of the list of interest. Yes, there are dollars at stake, but there are also important implications related to work flow, effects on patient chart access, physician order entry, decision support and many other issues. For the MOSAIQ product development group, it’s been the single highest priority.
Of course, there were lots of other interesting sessions including ones touching on survivorship, data visualization, clinical trial eligibility determination, billing… and the like. A great meeting with a great outcome, and I only hope we’ve not raised the bar too high.
I’m on vacation next week, but will sticking around the area. I will be visiting the White House during the week and bowling there (courtesy of some DC connections), so maybe will have a few words about that in my next blog.
Joel
Elekta Virtual Clinic 2.0
The Elekta Virtual Clinic offers an easy way to explore how our solutions can help support healthcare professionals to provide the best possible care for patients.
Elekta Virtual Clinic
Elekta Virtual Clinic - Radiation therapy
Elekta Virtual Clinic - Medical Oncology
Elekta Virtual Clinic - Neuro Surgery
Elekta Virtual Clinic - Gamma Knife Surgery
Elekta Virtual Clinic
For the first time ever, patients at The Christie are benefitting from a revolutionary radiotherapy treatment which dramatically cuts treatment time, whilst better targeting the tumour. Christie senior radiographer Julia Stratford, patient Jim Eastwood and physicist Carl Rowebottom
Doctors at Manchester’s famous cancer hospital are using a pioneering rotating machine to deliver stronger radiowaves directly into the tumour.
Previously treatment took up to 15 minutes as the machine stops and repositions itself – the new machine can be programmed to deliver the treatment in one go.
Because the new machine is so much quicker it means more people can be treated each day.
It is currently being used for prostate cancer patients but doctors hope to roll it out to other types of cancer soon.
Dr Carl Rowbottom from The Christie, said; “We’re starting this state-of-the-art treatment first of all to patients with prostate cancer and feedback has been fantastic.“This new technique is much better for patients, it’s quicker, they’re more comfortable as they don’t have to keep still for long periods of time so it reduces stress all round and they’re treated in next to no time at all.
Effective
“It also means we’re able to see more patients a day. It’s much more effective at targeting the specific site of the tumour whilst sparing adjacent healthy tissues of radiation.”
“We hope to expand the technology in the future so we can offer it to patients with other forms of cancer. Our new radiotherapy centres, currently under construction in Oldham and Salford, will also be capable of treating prostate cancer patients in this way.”
Patients needing radiotherapy have to have the treatment every day – sometimes up to five weeks or longer and The Christie runs one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world, treating more than 400 patients a day.
The Elekta technology is delivered by a £1.3m rotating machine called a linear accelerator which sends X-rays through the tumour.
Doctors hope to use this new radiotherapy on head, neck and lung cancers next.
Jim Eastwood, 65, from Whitworth, north of Rochdale, is one of the first patients to benefit from this technique after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in May.
The former production worker said: “When I found out I had prostate cancer I was really upset, I’ve been married to my wife Elaine for 44 years and have two kids and two grandkids, I’ve got everything to live for.
Procedure
“I was told I could have surgery or be treated with this new procedure. As I’d just had an operation, I didn’t want to undergo anything invasive again, so it seemed perfect for me.
“Having to have any sort of treatment is never pleasant, but this is over before you know it and there are hardly any side effects. I’m in extremely capable hands and feeling positive about the future.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/health/s/1184350_christie_patients_get_revolutionary_treatment
Elekta is improving the availability of cancer care for Russian patients by delivering clinical solutions, services and training to a number of key hospitals and cancer centers throughout Russia.
Elekta has won seven out of ten tenders being part of the new Russian National Oncology Program. The program was initiated under the auspices of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in early 2009 with the aim to improve prevention and early detection of cancer.
Currently, patients in Russia are diagnosed with cancer mostly at stages III and IV, negatively affecting the survival rate and with expensive medical and drug treatment required. The program is considered an important step by the Russian Government to increase the life span for the Russian people.
Tatyana Golikova
“By 2012, the situation must be changed so that identification and treatment of cancer patients will already happen at stages I and II of the disease”, said the Russian Minister of Health, Tatiana Golikova at the presentation of the program.
As part of the program, Elekta will deliver four Elekta Synergy®, two Precise Treatment System™ and one Elekta Axesse™ to hospitals and cancer centers throughout the country. Engineers and medical physicists from Elekta and its Russian distributor MSM-Medimpex will provide training for all medical staff as well as services.
In addition, two other key centers in Russia recently purchased two Elekta Axesse™ for their stereotactic program.
“We are proud to be a part of the expansion of cancer care in Russia, and in making the latest clinical treatment solutions available to more patients throughout the country”, says Olof Sandén, Executive Vice President for Elekta Europe, Africa, Latin America and Middle East.
Elekta is continuing to execute on its plan for geographical expansion in key emerging markets, where Russia is one of several geographical areas with a large unmet need for cancer care.
”We have created a new structure and strategies supporting our focus on emerging markets where a large number of patients can benefit from life-saving technologies at an affordable cost per patient”, says Mr. Sandén.
Ken Penfold was The first patient to experience the new IMR treatment
Revolutionary new technology in cancer care was launched at Royal Berkshire Hospital this week offering improved radiotherapy treatment.
The kit places the Reading hospital among an elite group in the country.
State-of-the-art three dimensional radiation waves will be the new thing for patients to help focus the lasers on the tumour and save any harm to surrounding organs.
And a new movement-sensored laser that works around the natural movement of the organs also means less risk on the area of the body surrounding the tumour.
Christine Lord, radiotherapy physicist at the hospital, has been working on implementing the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMR) for 12 months and said she is delighted it has finally happened.
She said: “We are actually a very small cancer centre with no research team so to be able to be in the top half of hospitals in the country really is a fantastic achievement.
“Previously radiotherapy was more two dimensional but now we can get around the tumour which means we can either offer the same level of radiation with less side effects, or a higher level of radiation with the same side effects.”
The first patient to experience the new IMR was Ken Penfold, 63, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last Christmas.
The improved radiation treatment has reduced his programme from seven weeks to just over four weeks.
The father-of-two from Bracknell said: “When I was offered the new treatment I was more than happy to be one of the first patients to try it.
“To live near one of the best cancer centres in the country is a massive benefit and I obviously am prepared to do whatever it takes to try and beat this cancer.
“When I was first told about it, it was somewhat of a shock as I had no symptoms. It was picked up in a routine blood test so to be able to treat the tumour at a higher dosage without damaging my body and causing fewer side effects is a huge bonus and hopefully will pay off.
“I am trying to live my life as normally as possible. I am still going to work and playing golf and watching football. I just have to make sure I am not too far away from a toilet because having prostate cancer does have some side effects.”
The new cancer treatment came about following a Royal Berkshire Hospital research partnership with The University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre.
Dr Richard Brown, consultant oncologist, said: “Patients have been very excited about this new treatment because it offers a much stronger chance of beating the cancer the first time around.”
A new cancer centre opening in Bracknell next year announced this week it will also be offering IMR.
Original Article: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/14/new-radiation-oncologists-raise-kitsaps-options/
New Radiation Oncologists Raise Kitsap's Options for Cancer Care
POULSBO — Radiation oncologists Berit Madsen and Alex Hsi know intimately the lengths cancer patients in Kitsap go through to get treatment.
The volume of cancer patients overwhelms the number of specialized cancer doctors in the county, they say, leading as many as half of the patients in Kitsap to choose to make regular trips to Tacoma and Seattle for weeks on end to get the treatment they need.
That’s as many as 750 patients a year.
“It’s a financial, physical and emotional burden,” Hsi said.
The pair of doctors are about to improve access by opening Peninsula Cancer Center in Poulsbo. Both, supported by a staff of seven, will offer radiation oncology. The center is already accepting patients, but will hold an open house and grand opening on Sept. 22.
The doctors’ arrival doubles the number of radiation oncologists in Kitsap County, and is being heralded as a major advance in making this type of cancer treatment available to more patients locally.
The only other two radiation oncologists work out of Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.
“For many years, there was just one person doing it,” said Dr. Brian Wicks, president of The Doctors Clinic. “It’s an exciting development in Poulsbo.”
And for many cancer patients. Cancer survivor Ross Thornburgh knew the drill well.
To get to his weekly treatment sessions in Seattle, the Bainbridge Island resident — a patient of Madsen — would ride the ferry, then struggle up from Colman Dock to catch the No. 12 bus, which would take him close to Virginia Mason Medical Center.
If it waited for him.
Or, he would be left with the task of walking the nine vertical blocks from the ferry terminal, cutting through buildings and using escalators when he could.
“I was tired of the whole damn thing,” said Thornburgh, now 79 and cancer-free.
Madsen and Hsi have invested $2.6 million in a state-of-the-art machine to deliver the treatment. Called the Elekta Synergy linear accelerator with VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy), it cuts the time radiation therapy is administered from 30 minutes to two minutes. It is the only linear accelerator with the reduced time available locally.
“To be still for two minutes is a lot easier than 30 minutes,” Hsi said.
Harrison has the other two linear accelerators in the county.
A linear accelerator delivers uniform doses of X-rays to a patient’s tumor, destroying cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy cells.
In addition, Madsen and Hsi have invested in a electromagnetic transponder system that precisely pinpoints targets to receive radiation. Madsen explained that the technology is akin to how global-position devices find geographic locations.
Madsen, who lives on Bainbridge Island, and Hsi, a Seattleite, are at the top of their profession. At different times, both served as head of radiation oncology at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.
The pair worked side by side for a decade at Virginia Mason, but left to offer radiation therapy here.
“It’s been a huge dream for all of us,” Matsen said. “It feels very good.”
Radiation oncology is one of three areas of cancer treatment. The other two are surgery and chemotherapy. Harrison Medical Center recently added two medical oncologists offering chemotherapy in Poulsbo. There are five medical oncologists in Kitsap County.
“We consider our center complementary and additive to what they’ve done,” Hsi said of the Harrison cancer team in Poulsbo.
Thornburgh, the Bainbridge Islander who survived colon cancer that spread, is glad his former oncologist and Hsi are offering more radiation oncology locally, and hopes they get the business they’re expecting.
As for him weathering all those trips up the hill to Virginia Mason, he said he always rewarded himself afterward with a plate of fried oysters at McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant on First Avenue before boarding the ferry home.
“That was the routine, and I can see where Berit is satisfying a need,” he said.
OPEN HOUSE SLATED
Peninsula Cancer Center of Poulsbo will host an open house from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22. The facility that will offer state-of-the-art radiation therapy is at 19917 Seventh Ave. in a building that also houses Liberty Bank. For more information, call the center at (360) 697-8000, e-mail doctors@peninsulacancercenter.com or visit www.peninsulacancercenter.com.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/14/new-radiation-oncologists-raise-kitsaps-options
- Largest Neurosurgical Center in Russia Acquires Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion February 6, 2012Russia’s first Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ system has found a home at the renowned N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute, just a five-minute car ride from Moscow’s Red Square. On June 2, 2011, a 59-year-old woman was the first Perfexion patient, receiving Gamma Knife® radiosurgery to treat tumor tissue that remained following open surgery. Now, eight mon […]
- Largest Neurosurgical Center in Russia Acquires Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion February 6, 2012N.N. Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute improves treatment of patients with multiple metastasesRead more... […]
- SRT January 31, 2012Würzburg10-11 December - 2012 […]
- Mosaiq® - Electronic Medical Records January 31, 2012Mannheim26-27 November - 2012 […]
- IMRT / VMAT January 31, 2012Mannheim22-23 November - 2012 […]
- IGRT January 31, 2012Amsterdam16-17 November - 2012 […]
- SBRT January 31, 2012Wake Forest, North Carolina18-19 October - 2012 […]
- IGRT January 31, 2012Amsterdam29-30 June - 2012 […]
- IMRT / VMAT January 31, 2012Mannheim21-22 June - 2012 […]
- Mosaiq® - Electronic Medical Records January 31, 2012Mannheim18-19 June - 2012 […]