Enhanced Patient Positioning System Unveiled Further Refining Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)

CHICAGO, July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Brainlab officially unveils the new ExacTrac®¹ 6.0 Patient Positioning system, delivering key improvements for both frameless radiosurgery and radiotherapy treatments. This new system aims to further increase clinical value, deliver intuitive workflows and enable refined integration with peripheral systems. For more than two decades, Brainlab has been refining and revolutionizing precise patient setup for stereotactic treatments. Now, over 500 institutions have demonstrated their trust in the ExacTrac IGRT system with more than one million treatments performed.

"The overall precision of ExacTrac is deeply embedded in every facet of the system from its refined installation procedures to its ever-developing customer training to its vital network of experienced users," commented Stefan Vilsmeier, President and CEO at Brainlab. "Radiotherapy departments worldwide rely on ExacTrac because it instills user confidence by continuously and accurately targeting the intended volume, throughout the entire treatment. ExacTrac 6.0 is another Brainlab advancement dedicated to improving patient treatments and clinical results."

ExacTrac uses high-resolution stereoscopic X-Ray images to instantly detect and visualize internal structures and their location inside the body before and during treatment. A selective, intelligent image fusion algorithm allows the elimination of artifacts and ambiguities caused by objects not rigidly correlated to the target structure. Clinicians can then correct patient position in six dimensions of freedom in order to accurately target the treatment area.

Three major American facilities have already acquired the new system, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, which acquired two new systems and upgraded their existing installation. 

"We are proud to be one of the first hospitals in the US to implement the new ExacTrac platform," states Michael T. Gillin, Ph.D., Professor, Radiation Physics, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. "The technological advancement can help us enhance our patient throughput and deliver state-of-the art cancer treatments. Only the fundamental architecture of ExacTrac allows us to instantaneously visualize internal structures during treatment, even at rotated couch and gantry angles."

ExacTrac 6.0 Features New Technology and Workflow Management:

• New dual generator allows for simultaneous imaging, significantly reducing the setup time and further enhancing the utilization of intra-fraction snap verification
• Remote control of the robotics module eliminates the need to enter the treatment room for rotational corrections
• Cone beam CT integration² allows for patient alignment in 6D based on volumetric cone beam images
• Advanced integration with Record and Verify system enables users to export shifts and images in DICOM RT format and review offline

The new ExacTrac 6.0 platform will be showcased at this year's American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) annual meeting in Charlotte, NC.

About Brainlab 

Brainlab develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology with the aim of optimizing patient treatments. Core products revolve around less-invasive image guided surgery technology, more accurate and effective radiation therapy, and integration through planning and collaboration systems that brings patient data and physicians together. www.brainlab.com

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SOURCE Brainlab