Siemens Healthcare has developed the new Multiple-X feature for the Artiste linear accelerator to speed up stereotactic radiation therapy.
The company said, with Multiple-X, the Artiste enables a dose rate of up to 2,000 MU per minute, which boosts the efficiency of radiation and can shorten treatment time by up to 80%.
Multiple-X provides four different types of beam without flattening filters; 7 megavolts (MV), 11 MV, 15 MV and 17 MV.
These can be combined with one flat energy to enable further applications such as Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy and 3D-Conformal Radiotherapy.
For image guided radiation therapy, Siemens developed In-Line kView in which an optimized imaging treatment beam is used on the accelerator to record 2D and 3D images of a tumour and surrounding tissue.
Assisted by intelligent software applications, clinicians can compare the image recorded by In-Line kView with the CT image from the planning phase.
In-Line kView also allows selection of imaging quality depending on dose rate, thus supporting dose management.
Siemens Healthcare Molecular Imaging product manager Lawrence Foulsham said innovative imaging and software solutions such as Multiple-X and In-Line kView enable clinicians to treat tumours with greater precision and ensure radiation planning and therapy take place with increased efficiency.
"Patient care is also enhanced as Multiple-X can shorten treatment time by up to 80 per cent while In-Line kView enables a repeated check of a tumor’s location before radiation treatment," Foulsham said.
Siemens Healthcare has showcased these solutions at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) 2011.
