Treatment Planning System Updated for Real-Time Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy

A new partnership agreement between Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) and Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, CA, USA) has been established to advance radiation treatment planning and delivery technology.

A strategic global partnership between Siemens Healthcare and Varian Medical Systems, which took effect October 26, 2012, in North America following an international rollout earlier in 2012, provides cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic systems and services for treating cancer with image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) of systems for imaging and treatment in the global radiation oncology business. This collaboration also includes the development of software interfaces between Siemens and Varian treatment systems. Moreover, the two companies will investigate prospects for joint development of new technology for radiosurgery and IGRT.

Varian will represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products such as computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to radiation oncology clinics in North America and in most international markets. Similarly, Siemens will represent Varian equipment and software for radiotherapy and radiosurgery within its product range to its healthcare customers. This collaboration enables both companies to offer comprehensive systems that support the complete clinical workflow from imaging to treatment.

Varian and Siemens are also developing interfaces to enable Varian’s Aria oncology information-system software to support Siemens accelerators and imaging systems, providing clinics with more ways to improve workflow and streamlining operations. The collaboration enables Siemens and Varian to codevelop and provide cancer treatment centers with new treatment and imaging systems by utilizing both companies’ technologic expertise.

Offering modulated arc therapy to Siemens’ Artiste linear accelerator, the new mARC software enables precise control of radiation delivery and is up to 65% faster than intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for individual treatment that best suits patient needs. mARC enables continuous gantry motion by alternating beam-on, beam-off periods, with fixed apertures during beam-on periods and modified apertures during beam-off periods; treatment can be resumed at any time. Moreover, mARC provides precise delivery control for smooth quality assurance (QA).

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Siemens Healthcare
Varian Medical Systems