Varian Medical Systems and IMRIS to Co-Develop Revolutionary New MR-Guided Radiation Therapy System

PALO ALTO, Calif. and WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (NYSE: VAR) ("Varian") and IMRIS Inc. (TSX: IM) ("IMRIS") have concluded an agreement to co-develop an innovative new MR-guided radiation therapy system for use in treating a variety of cancers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will develop a solution that combines IMRIS's proprietary MR imaging technology with Varian's recently introduced TrueBeam™ system, to enable the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during radiotherapy treatments for cancer. Launched in April 2010, Varian's TrueBeam system for radiotherapy and radiosurgery offers unprecedented speed and accuracy and has the ability to deliver treatments up to 50 per cent faster, with a dose delivery rate of up to double the maximum of earlier, industry-leading Varian systems.

MR is the gold standard for soft tissue imaging. By leveraging IMRIS's proprietary technology and integrating the exquisite detail of MR imaging with the extensive treatment delivery capabilities of the TrueBeam system, the two companies expect to enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy.

"We are seeking to augment physicians' ability to target cancerous tissue very precisely, even in areas of the body that are difficult to image," said Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "Many studies have shown that increased treatment accuracy can reduce the impact on healthy tissues around a targeted tumor."

source: PR Newswire

Calypso Medical Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for Dynamic Edge Gating Technology

SEATTLE—Oct. 7, 2010—Calypso Medical Technologies, Inc., a developer of real-time localization technology used for the precise tracking of tumors, today announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the Calypso® System with Dynamic Edge(tm) Gating Technology. This latest innovation of the Calypso System automates the response to organ motion that occurs during the delivery of radiation to prostate cancer tumors in order to protect healthy tissue from unintended radiation. As a result, this technology may enable a further decrease in the side effects associated with prostate radiotherapy, such as bowel and bladder incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

The Calypso System, with its GPS for the Body® technology, utilizes miniature implanted Beacon® transponders to provide precise, continuous information on the location of the tumor during external beam radiation therapy. The real-time position information provided by the Calypso System allows physicians to deliver maximum radiation directly to the tumor while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues and organs from exposure. The new gating technology allows therapists to set motion thresholds which automatically signal radiation delivery to be stopped each time the targeted tissue moves outside the preset threshold. Previously the Calypso System, which provides target position information in the form of objective data, relied upon the therapist to manually intervene and halt radiation delivery when healthy tissue was in danger of receiving unintended radiation.

source: Calypso Medical

Elekta Launches ABAS 2.0 Autosegmentation Software Used to Plan Radiation Therapy in Patients with Cancer

GPU calculations increase contouring speed by as much as 50 percent

Elekta recently launched ABAS (Atlas-based Autosegmentation) 2.0 software, which includes the Simultaneous Truth and Performance Level Estimation (STAPLE) algorithm to increase contouring accuracy. ABAS—considered the industry gold standard for autosegmentation accuracy—deforms atlases of anatomy previously defined on a reference image onto a new patient image, creating a new structure set fit to the patient anatomy and enhancing planning efficiency.

“The STAPLE algorithm allows multiple atlases to be calculated against a single patient,” says Randy Larson, ABAS product manager. “The benefit is increased accuracy because the user is achieving the best result for each contour based on multiple sources. ABAS 2.0 also uses a graphics processor unit [GPU], which increases contouring speed by up to 50 percent. In addition, this release includes an improved user interface featuring new tools and functionality, as well as full DICOM service, to enhance workflow and file maintenance.”

With its deformable registration algorithms, ABAS saves physician and dosimetrist time by automatically contouring new image sets based on anatomy defined in the atlas. Users may further edit and refine the new image sets.

source: Elekta