Elekta Software Making Strong Inroads in Clinics Providing Proton Therapy for Patients with Cancer

VILLIGEN, Switzerland, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland and Elekta are collaborating to further develop treatment planning and oncology information systems (OIS) for proton therapy, a form of external beam radiation that uses protons instead of X-rays or electrons to treat certain types of cancer and other diseases.

PSI integrated Elekta's XiO® treatment planning system and MOSAIQ® OIS into its Centre for Proton Therapy to manage the flow of information and image data between treatment delivery, treatment planning, treatment simulation and the patient's electronic medical record. In clinical use for nearly a decade, XiO is in use at more proton and carbon ion facilities than any commercial vendor with a similar product. Elekta recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for XiO to plan spot scanning, a proton therapy delivery method that involves constructing a highly conformal placement of dose to the tumor by using thousands of small individual beamlets instead of a single large beam.

"Through XiO, Elekta provides a combination of advanced tools for scanned proton beam therapy. Elekta also provides a clear road map to further develop intensity modulated, image guided and adaptive proton therapy," says Antony Lomax, Ph.D., Professor and Head of Medical Physics at the Center for Proton Therapy at PSI. "A deciding factor in entering into this relationship was Elekta's willingness to leverage the significant experience of our team to increase the capabilities of XiO proton planning."

Prof. Lomax adds that there is a clear strategy from Elekta to integrate* the planning features of XiO with MOSAIQ, the market's leading radiation oncology OIS. MOSAIQ is designed to support different types of radiation systems and modalities, including proton and carbon ion therapy*, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) all in alignment with Elekta's long-standing history of supporting multiple vendors and open systems to support new technologies.

"We believe that the combination of the flexibility and usability of XiO with the administrative power of MOSAIQ will lead to a state-of-the art package for proton therapy," he says.

The Centre for Proton Therapy at PSI pioneered scanning beam proton therapy, and treated its first patients with this approach in 1996. Subsequently, PSI upgraded this treatment modality to deliver Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT), treating its first patient with this technique in 1999.

"Radiation therapy is evolving rapidly in many areas, thanks in large part to innovations in intensity modulation, image guidance and workflow enhancing information management systems over the last decade," says Stewart Pegrum, Director Particle Therapy, Elekta. "Elekta has driven most of these improvements on the linear accelerator, as centers such as the Paul Scherrer Institute have advanced the discipline of proton therapy. Our collaboration with PSI focuses on combining technological advances in conventional radiation therapy and proton therapy to create the best possible therapeutic solution. We firmly believe that both Elekta and its customers can substantially benefit from this collaboration as PSI is one of the leading institutions in the field of proton therapy."

To learn more about Elekta's particle therapy solutions, visit http://www.elekta.com/healthcare_international_particle_therapy_solutions.php.

*MOSAIQ/SEQUENCER support of carbon ion therapy and MOSAIQ RTP are a works in progress. SEQUENCER is MOSAIQ's verify and record module.

About Elekta

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta