Varian Medical Systems, Inc., a Palo Alto, California firm, received FDA clearance to update the control software of the Clinac and Trilogy targeted radiotherapy devices and for the new Pivotal Care Solution for prone breast treatment. This enables a higher intensity dose delivery, up to 2400 monitor units per minute, and better support for treating breast cancer in the prone position.
The technology can now facilitate treating breast cancer patients on their stomachs rather than their backs—an approach that can reduce the volume of lung and heart tissue exposed to radiation during treatment.
Chris Toth, senior director of marketing is cited in the press release:
“Our High Intensity Mode makes it possible to deliver some treatments up to 50 percent faster than is possible without it. We’re seeing trends toward the use of hypo-fractionation and radiosurgical approaches for many types of cancer, which means that higher doses are delivered in just one or a few treatment sessions for quick ablation of a tumor. There has been encouraging research supporting this approach for the treatment of cancers of the brain, spine, and lung, as well as for prostate cancer. With High Intensity Mode, our Clinac and Trilogy machines can deliver these high dose treatments within a clinically-feasible timeframe.
When a woman is in the prone position for treatment, the targeted breast falls away from the rest of her body, creating a greater separation between the breast and the critical organs that lie behind her chest wall. The Pivotal Solution makes it possible to treat an anatomical area that lies below the couch top, such as a breast that is hanging away from the rest of the body, enabling physicians to choose this approach if it is best for a particular patient. Varian is committed to providing clinicians with tools that make it faster and easier to offer cancer patients advanced treatments that have the best likelihood of a positive outcome.”
Product pages: Trilogy; Clinac; Pivotal breast cancer treatment…