September 22, 2016 — At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 25-28 in Boston, Siemens Healthineers will debuts new hardware and software offerings for imaging for radiation therapy (RT). The new Somatom Confidence RT Pro dedicated computed tomography (CT) scanner is designed to reduce unnecessary workflow steps and features technology that is intended to advance quality care while enabling personalized scans. The scanner features the new version of the company’s optional software syngo.via RT Image Suite, which is designed to help radiation oncology professionals increase efficiency with integrated image assessment, contouring and patient marking in one solution.
The increasing adoption of advanced RT treatment techniques amid a rising desire for more standardized and personalized patient care requires precision across the entire RT department. When using CT in RT, this precision hinges upon fulfilling the needs of two very different end-users: radiation oncologists, who aim for precise contouring; and dosimetrists, who must devise accurate patient treatment plans.
The Somatom Confidence RT Pro dedicated CT system is designed to deliver images that serve the needs of both radiation oncologists and physicists. It is the first CT system that provides relative electron density images with a “single-energy” scan, thanks to the optional new DirectDensity algorithm. DirectDensity images unlock a wider range of tube voltages while supporting better image quality and yielding equivalent tissue characterization compared to standard practice. These images can be used for dose calculation, thereby helping to simplify the current practice. And thanks to metal artifact reduction with iMAR, adaptable kV settings with DirectDensity and an all-new detector, the Somatom Confidence RT Pro is designed to generate personalized images for all RT patients. These images are intended to enable optimal precision along the entire RT chain for both confident contouring and dose calculation.
Complementing the new CT system, syngo.via RT Image Suite is designed to deliver a fast, seamless and less error-prone workflow for patient marking with its Direct Laser Steering and Virtual Laser View features. It streamlines workflow by integrating 4-D data tools (phase splitting, generation of tMIP, tMinIP, Average CT), image review and target contouring into one solution. This set of time-saving tools in an integrated solution is designed to enable RT professionals to realize the full potential of 4-D imaging for comprehensive treatment decisions.
syngo.via RT Image Suite can help enable physicians to visualize the quantitative 3-D tumor trajectory and semi-automatically calculate the mid-ventilation phase, making it an ideal solution for introducing this concept into clinical routine. Studies indicate that by applying smaller target volume margins, this concept has the potential to increase the number of patients eligible for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Additionally, syngo.via RT Image Suite offers AutoContouring and Organ Templates, which are intended to help save time and improve standardization in organ-at-risk contouring.
At ASTRO 2015, Varian Medical Systems, a strategic partner of Siemens Healthineers, introduced the concept of high definition radiotherapy (HDRT). HDRT is especially well-suited to treat brain metastases, which occur in 20-40 percent of cancer patients. Somatom Confidence RT Pro is designed to help advance such new clinical fields and technologies, as well as provide confidence for treatment planning preparation. For example, the system’s optional new ADMIRE iterative reconstruction is designed to support superb details, delineation and sharpness of organ borders.
And since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the primary tool for brain imaging, the Magnetom line of Siemens Healthineers MR systems with Dot (Day optimizing throughput) supports acquisition of consistently high-quality, comprehensive images for lesion characterization. As 30-50 percent of brain metastases patients treated with radiation show distant intracranial recurrences, the AutoAlign feature of the Magnetom line complements the rest of the systems’ solutions by enabling reproducible acquisitions in follow-up — a necessity when managing such patients.
The Somatom Confidence and syngo.via RT Image Suite are pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance and are not yet commercially available in the United States.
For more information: www.healthcare.siemens.com
April 24, 2024 
