October 29, 2010 – The new TrueBeam system for fast, powerful and efficient cancer treatments will be highlight at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting in San Diego. Varian will also showcase Gated RapidArc, as well as new software capabilities designed to make cancer treatments faster, easier, and more accurate while lowering the cost per treatment. The new TrueBeam system delivers high-precision image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery, treating a moving tumor with unprecedented speed and accuracy. It uses a completely re-engineered control system and a multitude of technical innovations to dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. Designed to be a versatile platform, TrueBeam can be used for all forms of external beam image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery. Varian will also showcase Gated RapidArc radiotherapy, which is available on the company's TrueBeam, Trilogy, and Clinac iX linear accelerators. Gated RapidArc compensates for tumor motion while quickly delivering dose during a continuous rotation around the patient. This development enables the use of RapidArc to target lung tumors with greater precision by "gating" the beam — turning it on and off — in response to tumor motion. Also on display will be the 2010 release of the Eclipse treatment planning system, including the new Acuros XB algorithm, which reduces the amount of time it takes to calculate a treatment plan for external beam radiotherapy. Other enhancements in the new Eclipse release include: • Tools that make it easier to generate RapidArc plans for treating large tumor volumes using multiple arcs. • A new arc geometry tool offers planners a starting point for RapidArc plans, reducing the amount of time spent in "trial and error" mode before arriving at the final plan. • A PRO3 algorithm that optimizes RapidArc plans more quickly by a factor of two or more. • Portal dosimetry for RapidArc, which enables clinicians to check the quality of treatments without using phantoms or film, which is more time consuming. • A new workspace that allows for better integration of multimodality imaging in the treatment planning process and makes it easier to use PET scans for contouring • A SmartAdapt tool that helps clinicians made adaptations if a treatment plan should be changed due to tumor shrinkage, weight loss, or any other process affecting anatomy during a multiple-week course of treatment. Oncology Information System Enhancements to the ARIA oncology information system for 2010 take important steps toward compliance with requirements that the federal government has established for certifying electronic health records under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). New capabilities this year include a web-based patient portal giving cancer patients access to their personal health information via the Internet. A new drug database for use in radiation oncology departments has also been added, along with a lab orders workspace for electronic ordering and tracking of tests and test results. Another feature allows the clinical staff to capture information unrelated to cancer treatment, such as advanced directives and infectious diseases. Varian Medical Systems’ booth at ASTRO is 201. For more information: www.varian.com
August 09, 2024 
