November 3, 2010 – A new system cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) automates the response to organ motion that occurs during the delivery of radiation to prostate cancer tumors. Dynamic EdgeT Gating Technology, by Calypso Medical Technologies, is designed to protect healthy tissue from unintended radiation.
The technology will be on display at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) conference in San Diego, Calif.
It allows therapists to set motion thresholds which disable radiation delivery if the targeted tissue moves outside the preset threshold. Previously, the therapist had to manually intervene when healthy tissue was in danger of receiving unintended radiation. Dynamic Edge Gating provides an immediate response so the radiation beam is automatically disabled or re-enabled in response to organ motion. As a result, it may help decrease the side effects associated with prostate radiotherapy, such as bowel and bladder incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
The Calypso System, with its GPS for the Body technology, utilizes miniature implanted Beacon transponders to provide precise, continuous information on the location of the tumor during external beam radiation therapy.
For more information: www.calypsomedical.com
