Posts Tagged ‘Elekta Synergy’
U.K. medical center acquires two Elekta Synergy treatment systems, MOSAIQ oncology information system and IGRT workspace
The radiation oncology department at internationally renowned Addenbrooke’s Hospital (Cambridge, U.K.) is upgrading its radiotherapy capabilities with Elekta therapy systems, oncology information system (OIS) and image guided workspace. The two Elekta Synergy® image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) systems replace one Siemens linear accelerator and one Varian linear accelerator that had been in service for more than 10 years at the medical center, which is run by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Officials at Addenbrooke’s have been eager to more fully exploit techniques and technologies that modern treatment machines provide, according to Simon Thomas, Ph.D., head of radiotherapy physics at Addenbrooke’s. Currently, the hospital treats between 200 and 250 patients each day on seven machines.
“The two capabilities we wanted on the machines were IGRT and VMAT,” he says. “IGRT provides images of the target and nearby critical structures we want to avoid – with the patient in the treatment position before therapy. With VMAT, single or multiple radiation beams sweep in uninterrupted arcs around the patient, significantly reducing treatment times.”
Acquiring additional IGRT- and VMAT-capable treatment machines will enable Addenbrooke’s clinicians to offer these imaging and therapy techniques to more patients, Dr. Thomas adds.
Addenbrooke’s Hospital asked Elekta and three other providers to submit proposals and give presentations on their equipment to replace the outgoing linear accelerators. “We compared each company against our clinical and financial requirements and developed an overall score,” Dr. Thomas says. “Elekta’s overall score came out highest, and we combined that with the positive opinions we gathered from other Elekta users in the U.K., and decided to go with Elekta’s offerings.”
Read more at: http://www.elekta.com/healthcare_international_press_release_20071324.php.
International actress and cancer survivor Lisa Ray on Wednesday said she will ‘conquer’ the disease in her lifetime. Lisa recently inaugurated a cancer institute at Fortis Hospitals Ltd’s Mulund facility.
Malvinder M Singh and Lisa Ray
“Courage, fortitude and the right attitude towards life can overcome all odds. In any adverse situation people tend to give up but in my life and my fight against cancer I have learnt that by facing the challenge head on, hope can break through and win. It takes a lot of resilience to face such a situation in life but I believe nothing is impossible if we have the attitude to fight for it,” Lisa told reporters.
“I am happy to associate with Fortis Cancer Institute which has the best clinical talent and infrastructure to give patient the right care. I am also glad to associate with the group to extend my support for spreading awareness around cancer cure in our country. My motto is ‘never stop fighting’ and we will conquer cancer in our lifetime,” she added.
The Fortis Cancer Institute offers comprehensive customised, cancer treatment with dedicated consultants across Medical, Surgical and Radiation Oncology backed by the latest in Cancer Technology.
Malvinder M Singh, Group Chairman, Fortis Healthcare Group, said, “We are bringing renewed hope to cancer patients in Mumbai by providing diagnosis and treatment expertise with a human touch. Our Cancer Institute in Mumbai will expand the spectrum of our super specialty and provide unparalleled care to cancer patients with an integrated approach.”
“At Fortis Cancer Institute we will ensure that each patient receives compassionate care through the expertise of a responsive and experienced team of healthcare professionals. We are the first hospital in India to acquire the most sophisticated radiation therapy equipment -Elekta Synergy Linac with Volumetric Modulated ARC Therapy (VMAT) which can treat tumors and small lesions in the brain and other parts of the body quickly with precision.
Elekta Synergy Gallery
“VMAT technology helps target the treatment area more accurately and reduces treatment time by 35- 40%. This combines with sophisticated Oncentra Treatment Planning System which reduces the treatment planning substantially hence giving a faster turnaround time to patient and benefiting the patient in quick and customized treatment. We are the first ones to invest in this technology in the country,” said Vishal Bali, CEO Fortis Hospitals Ltd.Visit Elekta India – http://www.elektaindia.co.in
To read more visit – http://indianweekender.co.nz/Pages/ArticleDetails/16/1471/Bollywood/Will-conquer-cancer-Lisa-Ray
'Images courtesy of OCA Hospital, Monterrey, Mexico'
A 64-year-old female patient with mediastinal metastasis recently became the first in Latin America to receive Elekta VMAT radiotherapy treatment enhanced with Monaco® planning software. The patient completed her five Elekta VMAT treatment sessions at OCA Hospital, each of which lasted less than five minutes. The largest private medical center in Mexico, OCA Hospital is the fifth center in the world to utilize the combined radiation therapy planning and delivery solution.
“The speed of Elekta VMAT is reinforced with sophisticated Monaco planning, which helps us effectively plan around targets and organs-at-risk,” says Genaro Levinson, president and CEO of OCA Hospital. “Also, the Monte Carlo dose algorithm enhances the predictability of the dose, so we can confidently deliver the highest therapeutic dose.”
In addition to its Elekta VMAT/Monaco first, OCA Hospital was the first medical center in Latin America to install Elekta Synergy®, a treatment system equipped with advanced imaging technology to visualize the tumor and critical structures with the patient in the treatment position at the time of treatment.
'Images courtesy of OCA Hospital, Monterrey, Mexico'
“OCA leadership and senior management determined to upgrade our oncology department with state-of-the-art technology, including how we could improve Elekta Synergy,” Levinson says. “We wanted to be one step ahead of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy [IMRT]with static segments, which we had been doing successfully for years. We envisioned VMAT as an excellent alternative for dynamic IMRT using rapid volumetric arcs.”
Read more at: http://www.elekta.com/healthcare_international_press_release_20071055.php.
Gordon Brown and the Elekta Synergy
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised The Christie for “leading the way in health care” with its new radiotherapy centre in Oldham when he visited today, Thursday 18th March 2010.
He met staff and patients at the £17 million centre, which is the first facility of its kind in the UK.
During the hour long visit, Gordon Brown described the centre as a great advance in the health service. He said; “This is an amazing facility offering the best of care and the best of technology. It will make a huge difference to patients and will ensure people can get the best service close to home.”
Click here for more on Elekta Synergy
http://www.cooley-dickinson.org
Rigorous safety measures, pre-treatment checks help deliver the best treatment; March 20 open house scheduled
Cooley Dickinson Hospital purchased state-of-the-art radiation oncology equipment and began treating patients with this technology in February.
For patients undergoing radiation oncology treatments, the Elekta Synergy can significantly shorten daily treatment times. It also delivers the radiation dose more precisely to the tumor while minimizing the impact to the surrounding healthy tissue.
Says Linda Bornstein, MD, chief of radiation oncology at Cooley Dickinson: “With the Elekta Synergy and its many features designed to benefit patients, we can treat cancer more precisely and aggressively than ever before.”
“Patients in our community have access to the latest radiation oncology treatment technology available,” Dr. Bornstein adds, noting that leading cancer centers like Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center have purchased the same technology.
According to manufacturer Elekta, Cooley Dickinson’s Radiation Oncology Suite is the first in New England to implement the Elekta Synergy that has the ability to perform Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT).
Radiation therapy and patient safety
As the leading radiation therapy technology on the market, the Elekta Synergy includes built-in software programs to ensure the safe delivery of radiation therapy. Craig Hansen, RT (T), BS, radiation therapy manager says Cooley Dickinson’s radiation therapy quality and safety program complies with mandated state and federal guidelines and exceeds best-practice standards that have been set by Cooley Dickinson.
“The safe delivery of radiation therapy is of utmost importance to the physicians, nurses, physicists, radiation therapists, social workers and administrative staff who comprise a patient’s treatment team,” says Hansen.
Cooley Dickinson’s approach to safety and quality assurance includes pre-treatment checks performed by dedicated staff on all treatment plans; charts reviewed weekly by the treatment team and in peer-review chart rounds; and monthly quality assurance meetings are held to develop strategies to improve care and reduce the risk of errors.
Hansen says prior to receiving radiation, a patient’s radiation therapy prescription goes through multi-step pre-treatment checks. Designed to ensure accuracy, a patient’s treatment plan is developed, reviewed and tested by three experienced radiation therapy clinicians. Also, the Elekta Synergy computer software includes duplicative steps designed to verify the radiation prescription.
“As a final step before treatment, we conduct a dry run to verify the imaging,” adds Hansen. Finally, a radiation oncologist signs off on the plan.
In addition, Cooley Dickinson invested in upgrades to its entire radiation therapy computer systems and linear accelerators to ensure the systems exceed quality assurance standards.
Understanding radiation therapy
Patients undergoing radiation treatments for cancer are treated with a linear accelerator, equipment that produces a radiation beam of either electrons or high energy X-rays. The beam is adjusted to match the patient’s tumor shape.
In the majority of cases, radiation therapy is given as fractionated treatment, meaning that patients receive a daily dose of radiation five days a week for two to seven weeks, depending on a patient’s individual treatment plan. At each daily treatment, the radiation beam is given from different angles to ensure that the entire tumor receives an optimal radiation dose.
The geometry and intensity of the radiation field is adjusted to the tumor’s size and shape and also to the type of cancer that is treated. The treatment beam is shaped with a multileaf collimator (MLC) that functions much like the aperture on a camera.
A new approach to radiation therapy
The Elekta Synergy is an advanced digital linear accelerator that integrates imaging tools to enable high quality, 3D imaging at the time of a patient’s radiation therapy treatment. The ability to image or visualize internal structures at the time of treatment allows clinicians to more accurately target tumors while preserving the healthy tissue that surrounds a tumor.
Dr. Bornstein says an advantage of the Elekta Synergy is that it combines the imaging and the treatment at each session and helps to ensure precision during treatment.
With the addition of the Elekta Synergy, the Radiation Oncology Suite contains two linear accelerators, the new machine and a second linear accelerator that has been in use since 1996.
The VMAT technology
Elekta Synergy incorporates Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), an innovative way to deliver radiation treatments that is a significant improvement over existing radiation therapies. With VMAT, the target area is continuously irradiated while the source of the beam rotates around the patient.
Open house planned
On Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cooley Dickinson Radiation Oncology Suite physicians and staff are pleased to invite the community to an open house to tour the suite and learn about the new technology. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to meet the Cancer Care Program team and learn more about the Cooley Dickinson and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center collaboration to expand oncology services to Pioneer Valley residents. For more information call the Cancer Care Program office at (413) 582-2028
Learn more at www.cooley-dickinson.org <http://www.cooley-dickinson.org>
Christie engineers (left) Dave Gaskin and Rob O’Reilly.
The new “Christie at Oldham” radiotherapy centre, a satellite to The Christie in Manchester, took a huge step forward recently with the arrival of the two Elekta Synergy linacs. The installation period is reported to be progressing well with the remainder of the building moving ahead on schedule.
With the centre due to open early in the new year, more members of the MDT are being appointed. Radiographers, physicists, engineers and clinicians are currently moving into post and with the support of the project manager Phil Turner and project director Peter Williams the centre aims to be a great success, offering patients in the north west improved access to radiotherapy.
Bismark Cancer Center install an Elekta Synergy
Jill Goetz, Cancer Survivor, Development Coordinator, Bismark Cancer Center
Elekta Synergy has been designed to inspire clinical confidence via IGRT to practice advanced radiation therapy techniques. This combination of high resolution imaging, taken in 3D and at the time (the 4th dimension) of treatment combined with workflow solutions developed to be applicable on a routine basis is described as 4D Adaptive and is the Elekta® IGRT solution.
This video popped up on YouTube, Interesting to see Elekta Synergy in Japan – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLh2lrfhE4A
Elekta Synergy Japan
A new private initiative quickens the pace of treatment
The number of patients waiting for treatment for cancer at the Auckland Hospital has declined sharply following the opening of the Auckland Radiation Oncology (ARO) Centre, it has been revealed. The centre’s clinical director professor Chellaraj Benjamin said more than 300 patients have been treated at the Centre since it became operational in November last year.
Prime Minister John Key officially inaugurated it on February 19. Dr Benjamin said although the incidence of cancer was high in New Zealand, a large number of people continued to ignore the symptoms and do not undergo medical examination and treatment.
“As official campaigns say, ‘Early detection is the best protection against cancer.’ “Breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men are among the most common occurrences in New Zealand. Women should go for regular mammogram tests after they reach 45 years of age. Free check-up facilities are available at medical centres throughout the country. The ARO is another option for New Zealanders,” he said.
It is the first private radiation therapy centre in the country, established as a partnership between MercyAscot and South Cross Hospitals.
The $20 million facility, established at the MercyAscot site in Epsom, is proximate to services treating cancer including radiology, laboratory, consulting suites, chemotherapy and pharmacy, and has ample parking for patients.
Dr Benjamin said ARO has 12 qualified staff to operate the systems, in addition to two physicists and other visiting professionals.
“The state-of-the-art centre comprises the Elekta Synergy Radiation Therapy System with ‘Mosaiq’ electronic medical records, and is the first of its type in New Zealand to treat cancer,” he said.
Equipped with an Elekta Synergy Linear Accelerator, the system combines high-resolution 3D imaging and comprehensive workflow solutions to create a sophisticated Image Guided Radiation Therapy treatment.
Dr Benjamin said facilities and services at the centre will be continuously improved, with the next stage of development expected to be completed next year.
“Another bunker will be built to facilitate treatment of more patients. “The centre will shortly adopt a number of advanced radiation therapy techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and radiation therapy to accentuate treatment times,” he said.
Located in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province in southeastern China, Fujian Tumor Hospital is a 1,000-bed hospital specializing in cancer treatment, education and research. It treats about 10,000 patients a year. The hospital previously had one Elekta Precise Treatment System™, one Siemens unit and one Theratron cobalt unit. Jianji Pan, M.D., Deputy Director of Fujian Province Tumor Hospital, explains,
“Because we had such a good experience with the Elekta Precise Treatment System and with Elekta services and support, we ordered the Elekta Synergy® system last year. we also ordered the
Elekta Compact
HexaPOD™ evo robotic treatment table and stereotactic accessories for advanced IMRT and IGRT.”
Prof. Pan adds,
“we were treating patients from seven in the morning until 10 at night, and we still had a long patient queue due to the high demand.”
read more about the World’s first Elekta Compact installed in China
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