GE introduces proton therapy package for CT
GE Healthcare today unveiled a proton therapy package for its LightSpeed RT16 CT system at the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) conference in Los Angeles. The offering contains the options a facility may need to conduct RT simulation and proton therapy planning, according to Paul Anderson, general manager of GE’s oncology business.

“From an imaging perspective, this package provides the capability of visualizing sub-millimeter isotropic voxels for proton therapy treatment planning,” Anderson said.

The LightSpeed RT16 proton therapy package includes GE’s AdvantageSim MD software, which provides complete volume definition and geometric beam placement capabilities for radiotherapy. It features simultaneous multimodality contouring and automated organ segmentation tools as well as the capability for radiation oncologists to integrate respiratory motion data, which allows them to review, contour and plan in one simulation session.

The proton therapy package includes Varian Medical Systems’ Real-time Position Management application along with GE’s Advantage4D software. This integrated toolset gives clinicians a powerful weapon against patient motion, one of the largest barriers to successful RT planning, GE said. The system is designed for use anywhere respiratory motion is encountered, which could affect regions beyond the lungs to the kidneys, liver and through the pelvis, allowing for more accurate tumor tracking. 

Using data gathered by the Varian RPM Respiratory Gating System, GE’s Advantage4D captures the full range of motion of internal structures and lesions throughout patient respiration. This helps oncologists visualize critical organs to plan for a more targeted radiation treatment.

The proton package also includes a precision laser system, a Diacor Carbon RTP flat pad and a GT 2000 scanning table. Anderson said GE has an installed base of more than 100 LightSpeed RT16 scanners and all of them are eligible for its continuum upgrades to any or all components of the proton package, should they ever decide to begin proton therapy.

Gene Saragnese, vice president and general manager of the company’s global molecular imaging and CT business, said, “This proton therapy package brings our premier applications suite on our premier wide-bore CT scanner to our customers.”

The company is also showcasing its PET volume, computer-assisted reading, advanced visualization software at ASTRO. PET VCAR offers workflow enhancements for both single- and multi-exam review, including exam-to-exam auto-registration, tumor segmentation and quantification, and multi-planar image review. 

“PET VCAR has the potential to improve the way PET/CT images are used in clinical follow up,” said Hadi Moufarrej, general manager of GE’s global molecular imaging business.  “The GE-patented Interactive Data Analysis feature provides a tumor report card allowing physicians to systematically visualize, analyze and manage tumors over time with tremendous efficiency. We believe PET VCAR will help improve the clinicians’ daily reading experience and patient management.”
Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup