Varian Medical Systems has introduced a new line of 'super' accelerators designed to advance the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, head and neck, and other types of cancer.
The TrueBeam platform for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery is the fully-integrated system designed from the ground up to treat a moving target with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Varian said that the TrueBeam system uses a completely re-engineered control system and a multitude of technical innovations to dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery.
Designed to be a versatile platform, a TrueBeam system can be used for all forms of advanced external-beam radiotherapy including image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery (IGRT and IGRS), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and RapidArc radiotherapy. The product line includes TrueBeam STx, specially configured for advanced radiosurgery.
Varian Medical Systems claimed that the TrueBeam system also delivers new ‘gated’ RapidArc radiotherapy, which compensates for tumor motion by synchronizing imaging with dose delivery during a continuous rotation around the patient.
According to Varian, ‘Intelligent’ automation further speeds treatments with an up to five-fold reduction in the number of steps needed for imaging, positioning and treating patients. A standard intensity-modulated treatment that would typically take ten minutes can be completed in less than two minutes. Complex radiosurgery that typically takes 40 minutes to an hour, can be completed in just 5 to 20 minutes.
Tim Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems, said: “When we introduced RapidArc radiotherapy, we were thrilled to see treatments done in about 2 minutes. With TrueBeam, RapidArc treatments can now be completed in about a minute.
“This increased level of precision will make it possible for doctors to treat a moving lung tumor as if it were standing still. By synchronizing treatment with tumor position changes throughout the respiratory cycle, doctors will be able to reduce the margin of healthy tissue affected by the treatment beam.”