LEEDS, England, January 09, 2012
Clinicians cut VMAT planning times, aim to increase access to rapid radiotherapy for more patients
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Volumetric
Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) delivery techniques have
dramatically reduced treatment times for thousands of
patients. An obstacle to offering this technique to more
patients is the time it takes to create a VMAT plan.
Physicians at St. James's University Hospital - the first in
the United Kingdom to use Monaco® VMAT clinically - have been
able to significantly reduce VMAT planning times, increasing
the potential to offer this advanced therapy to greater
numbers of patients.
"Our referral rate for radiation therapy is expanding by over
seven percent annually," says St. James's head of
radiotherapy physics Vivian Cosgrove, Ph.D. "We see VMAT as a
key way to manage that growth. If we can plan complex
radiotherapy quickly and deliver treatment more efficiently
with VMAT, then we can treat more patients and derive more
benefit from our existing fleet of treatment machines."
Elekta VMAT is an advanced radiation therapy technique that
delivers treatment in one or more continuous high-speed arcs
around the patient, enabling the radiation dose to precisely
conform to a tumor by modulating the radiation beam's
intensity in multiple small volumes.
The key to rapidly developing Elekta VMAT plans lies in
understanding the principles of efficiently producing
traditional IMRT plans with step-and-shoot (i.e.,
non-dynamic) delivery. Medical physics staff at St. James's
have used Monaco since January 2011 to plan head-and-neck
IMRT cases.
"Monaco has transformed our IMRT service," Dr. Cosgrove
notes. "After contouring, we can complete a complex
head-and-neck plan in two to three hours. This is two to
three times quicker than other planning systems we have used.
Since we introduced Monaco clinically, we have been able to
significantly increase the number of patients receiving
intensity modulated treatment: over 260 patients in 2011 and
a target to increase this further in 2012."
That number includes many patients who have received VMAT
planned with Monaco, which St. James's clinicians began
performing in August 2011 on one of its 12 Elekta digital
accelerators.
VMAT delivery of head-and-neck cases takes 6.5 minutes, half
the time of a seven-field step-and-shoot delivery, he
says.
Monaco VMAT for lung SBRT
St. James's physicians are eager to begin using Monaco to
plan Elekta VMAT for lung SBRT cases, in which the shorter
delivery time will minimize the risk of patient movement.
"Typically, we set aside a treatment slot of about 30
minutes, which includes two X-ray Volume Imaging [XVI] scans
with the patient in the treatment position," Dr. Cosgrove
explains. "If the patient moves or treatment delivery is
prolonged, we repeat the XVI to ensure there has been no
change in the patient set-up. With VMAT, we not only can
reduce the patient's time on the table, but also - by
decreasing the likelihood of patient movement - we can avoid
having to take further XVI scans. This is a very important
consideration for treatment to this site."
With 12 Elekta digital accelerators operating at St. James's
University Hospital, the potential to dramatically increase
VMAT treatment deliveries to reduce patient treatment times
is tremendous.
"We have demonstrated the real clinical value of Monaco, but
our challenge now is to increase our Monaco provision in the
hospital," he remarks. "We would like to at least double our
current provision of two Monaco systems in the short term,
and longer term to have a lot more systems in the
department."
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For further information, please contact:
Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications,
Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, email: stina.thorman@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
Michelle Lee Joiner, Director, Global Public Relations and
Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: michelle.joiner@elekta.com
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.
Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,300 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: .
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