Elekta to Showcase Revolutionary Agility Beam-shaping Innovation at Radiation Physics Annual Meeting

ATLANTA and CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – AAPM Booth #845 – Elekta's Agility™* multileaf collimator (MLC) will take center stage at Elekta's AAPM exhibit, July 29 - August 2 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Using a combination of 160 high-resolution tungsten leaves and dramatically faster leaf movement, Agility promises a new level of precision and delivery speed in radiation therapy treatments for cancer patients. Elekta recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Agility. The new Agility enables U.S. medical centers to provide these clinical benefits to their patients with cancer.

Agility is Elekta's latest addition to its comprehensive spectrum of integrated oncology care solutions, and will join other innovations at AAPM, such as MOSAIQ® Oncology Information System, Monaco® treatment planning system with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and Elekta Infinity® treatment system. The combination of these and other Elekta solutions provides an integrated, efficient workflow that facilitates rapid patient treatments.

Other exhibition highlights include:

• Clarity® Autoscan*, enabling real time soft tissue tracking for prostate motion during treatment
• MOSAIQ® Mobile*, providing instant access to MOSAIQ from anywhere
• Oncentra® Brachy* treatment planning platform, delivering pinpoint accuracy and treatment confidence
• Leksell GammaPlan® Gamma Knife® treatment planning system, offering unmatched speed and accuracy

Agility and Monaco treatment planning provide unique synergy

Using twice the number of leaves typical of many standard MLC's – in addition to ultra-fast (twice as fast as standard) leaf movements, Agility precisely and rapidly sculpts delivered radiation to the unique contours tumors, while reducing radiation exposure to healthy tissues. Moreover, with its new lower radiation leakage design, research has shown Agility can significantly reduce the patient's non-therapeutic radiation exposure as compared to other conventional MLC's.(1)

Combining Agility with Monaco treatment planning – particularly for VMAT plans – can dramatically improve planning and delivery efficiency. The latest version of Monaco (v.3.2) includes a new Segment Shape Optimization (SSO) feature that produces extremely high quality VMAT plans. Monaco 3.2 plans deliver maximum dose to the tumor while avoid dose to surrounding areas, while VMAT delivery ensures the dose is delivered quickly to minimize treatment times.

On Tuesday, July 31 at The Westin Charlotte, Elekta will host a complimentary Lunch and Learn, where Christopher Walker, Ph.D., Head of Radiotherapy Physics at James Cook University Hospital, will give a presentation titled "Clinical Experience and Physics of the Agility MLC." This session will highlight extensive clinical experience commissioning and delivering treatments with Agility.

During the same session, Daliang Cao, Ph.D., Medical Physicist at Swedish Cancer Institute, will give a presentation titled "Advancing VMAT with Segment Shape Optimization," which will examine the dramatic effects of such optimization on VMAT plan quality.

To register for this event, visit www.cvent.com/d/lcqzsp/4W. For more information on Elekta at AAPM, visit www.elekta.com/AAPM. 

*MOSAIQ Mobile and Clarity Autoscan are works in progress and not for sale in all markets. Agility and Oncentra Brachy are not for sale in all markets.

1. Cosgrove, VP, Thompson, C, Chrisophides, D et al. (2009) Physical characterization of a new concept design of an Elekta Radiation Head with integrated 160-leaf multi-leaf collimator. Poster presented at ASTRO 2009.

For further information, please contact:
Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, email: [email protected]
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Michelle Joiner, Director, Global Public Relations and Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: [email protected]
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

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, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, 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.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,300 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta