Mount Vernon Hospital utilizes Varian's 3D imaging system
The radiation oncology department at Mount Vernon Hospital in Middlesex, England, near London, is performing cone-beam CT using Varian Medical Systems' Acuity simulator to plan and set up advanced treatments for patients with breast and gynecological cancers.   
   
The cone-beam CT imaging capability has been incorporated into the hospital's Acuity treatment planning, simulation and verification system from Varian Medical Systems. With cone-beam CT on the Acuity device, volumetric digital images can be taken of patients who could not otherwise be scanned, either because of physical considerations or over-capacity on conventional CT scanners.
   
The 3D imaging capability has already been used with 148 patients at Mount Vernon, Varian said.
   
"We've used cone-beam CT to capture high quality 3D images of patients with breast and gynaecological cancers," says Damu Shah, superintendent radiographer at Mount Vernon. "It's particularly valuable for breast patients, some of whom cannot be imaged in a conventional CT scanner because we need them to lie with their arm behind their head, which makes it difficult for them to fit through a standard CT."
   
In the past, staff at Mount Vernon would have been forced to conduct manual outlines on these patients, a process which involves manual measurements and calculations that can take up to 10 minutes. With cone-beam CT, that process takes less than two minutes, Varian said.
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