The goal of IMPT is to shape the dose distribution so that it matches the shape of the targeted tumor in all three dimensions.
An important feature of the latest Eclipse release is the ability to analyze the robustness of a treatment plan in terms of its ability to optimally cover the tumor and reduce dose to healthy tissues.
Varian’s ProBeam system incorporates pencil-beam scanning technology which optimizes the dose applied to every point within the area being treated.
Varian particle therapy group head Moataz Karmalawy said IMPT is the new frontier in proton therapy and has the potential to improve dose distributions in the same fashion that IMRT did for conventional X-ray radiotherapy.
"This means getting closer to the radiation therapy treatment goal of applying optimum dose to the cancerous tumour while sparing healthy tissue and organs at risk that lie in the beam’s path," Karmalawy said.
"Introduction of the new user interface, the patient positioner and imaging enhancements make this system easier to use for clinicians, building on their workflow expertise in conventional radiotherapy."
Varian Medical Systems plans to highlight its IMPT and Eclipse treatment planning software at PTCOG meeting from 8-14 May 2011.
