Accuray tracks prostate motion during hypofractionated radiosurgery
Accuray highlighted its new InTempo adaptive imaging system as a software enhancement to the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System’s ability to continually track and correct for motion of the prostate during treatment, at the 50th American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting last week in Boston.
With the introduction of the InTempo, radiation delivery with the CyberKnife System automatically adapts to patient-specific intra-fraction prostate motion. By increasing imaging frequency during periods of rapid and erratic prostate movement, the CyberKnife System tailors treatment delivery to the movements of the prostate throughout the treatment session, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Accuray said.
“Motion of the prostate during treatment has long been recognized as one of the major limiting factors for prostate dose escalation. This motion requires continual monitoring throughout treatment,” according to Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Accuray.
While the robot comes around the patient, the system performs rapid sequence imaging during treatment every 30 seconds to adjust for any patient movement. “The prostate has been shown to move frequently, InTempo looks at the prostate, determine if is moving, and if it is, take more images at a varying frequency to make sure that we are compensating for periods of rapid movements,” Lindquist said.
The technology was shown as a capability in progress and Lindquist said the company anticipates it to be available worldwide at the first part of 2009.
In looking toward the future, he said science is pointing to hypofractionation as a better way to treat cancer in the brain and spine. “There obviously needs to be more work done, more studies conducted, but it seems like it will be a high benefit to prostate patients and even liver cancer,” Lindquist added.
“We see the science and our clinicians pointing us to higher doses and lower fractionation; a market that is demanding the convenience of non-invasiveness, convenient, outpatient procedures and we feel we are poised to fit nicely into this, through science and utilization,” he concluded.
With the introduction of the InTempo, radiation delivery with the CyberKnife System automatically adapts to patient-specific intra-fraction prostate motion. By increasing imaging frequency during periods of rapid and erratic prostate movement, the CyberKnife System tailors treatment delivery to the movements of the prostate throughout the treatment session, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Accuray said.
“Motion of the prostate during treatment has long been recognized as one of the major limiting factors for prostate dose escalation. This motion requires continual monitoring throughout treatment,” according to Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Accuray.
While the robot comes around the patient, the system performs rapid sequence imaging during treatment every 30 seconds to adjust for any patient movement. “The prostate has been shown to move frequently, InTempo looks at the prostate, determine if is moving, and if it is, take more images at a varying frequency to make sure that we are compensating for periods of rapid movements,” Lindquist said.
The technology was shown as a capability in progress and Lindquist said the company anticipates it to be available worldwide at the first part of 2009.
In looking toward the future, he said science is pointing to hypofractionation as a better way to treat cancer in the brain and spine. “There obviously needs to be more work done, more studies conducted, but it seems like it will be a high benefit to prostate patients and even liver cancer,” Lindquist added.
“We see the science and our clinicians pointing us to higher doses and lower fractionation; a market that is demanding the convenience of non-invasiveness, convenient, outpatient procedures and we feel we are poised to fit nicely into this, through science and utilization,” he concluded.