Varian Medical Systems has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for a new "AAA" dose calculation algorithm in the company's Eclipse three dimensional radiotherapy treatment planning software.

The new AAA algorithm improves radiation dose distributions in heterogeneous areas of the body such as the lung where bone, dense soft tissues, and air pockets each interact with radiation in unique ways. The Eclipse planning system with the AAA algorithm can produce a treatment plan for a large tumor volume in less than a minute.

According to Varian, Eclipse software now offers clinicians both the AAA and the electron Monte Carlo algorithms for planning radiotherapy treatments. The electron Monte Carlo algorithm was added to Eclipse last July for planning electron treatments of tumors close to the skin.