Photo Gallery of Technologies Showcased at ASTRO 2022

An outstanding line-up of speakers and topics were featured at ASTRO22, including two dynamic keynote speakers focused on the meeting theme of AI & EI: Caring for the Patient in a Wireless World, in an effort to inform the bigger picture of the rapidly changing health care environment beyond radiation oncology. The conference was held Oct. 23-26 in San Antonio.

Accuray and C-RAD unveiled the automated breast cancer treatment package for the Radixact System at ASTRO22. Its unveiling was held on Oct. 23 at the Accuray booth. 

Accuray and C-RAD unveiled the automated breast cancer treatment package for the Radixact System at ASTRO22. Its unveiling was held on Oct. 23 at the Accuray booth. 

"ASTRO 2022 marks an important milestone for our organization as we launch, with C-RAD, a new option for the Radixact System for treating the wide range of breast cancer patients. Breast cancer remains a significant women's health issue that with early detection and more precise treatment technology can have a major impact on extending and improving the quality of patients' lives. It seems appropriate to make this announcement during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when people worldwide join together to raise awareness of improving early diagnosis and treatment options for this disease. This introduction is the result of our strong investment in R&D to deliver robust and differentiated products that are intended to improve lives," said Suzanne Winter, president and chief executive officer of Accuray, pictured (L). 

"SGRT technology has proven its substantial benefits in hospitals and clinics around the world, as shown in the multitude of clinical research on the topic. We at C-RAD firmly believe surface tracking is becoming the standard of care," said Tim Thurn, CEO of C-RAD AB, pictured (R). "For breast cancer treatment in particular, our workflow for deep inspiration treatment has fantastic results, both for clinical teams but also for patients. The Accuray DIBH solution on Catalyst⁺ can be used for a multitude of indications, but for breast cancer treatments the seamless workflow allows deep inspiration treatment on the Radixact System to reduce the dose exposure to the heart amongst other benefits. The goggles as well as the in-room panels help guide the patient through their breathing cycles." 

Meeting highlights from ASTRO22 included two dynamic keynote speakers, “Cancer Breakthrough” Sessions, four Master Classes, Science Highlight sessions, more than 300 abstracts, a bustling Exhibit Hall (pictured here), award presentations, networking and career development opportunities.

Led by ASTRO President Geraldine M. Jacobson, MD, MPH, MBA, FASTRO, the conference attracted thousands of oncologists, clinicians, researchers and other health care professionals from around the globe. 

An important and popular part of the ASTRO22 Annual Meeting each year is the Exhibit Hall, where key decision-makers explore the latest products and services to improve their practices. This is an opportunity for attendees to network with industry partners, view product demonstrations and ask questions about new products and trends on the horizon.

ASTRO 2022's conference program was uniquely designed to ensure that attendees from around the globe continue to access timely scientific and educational content. You can find some of this year's educational highlights here.

The Presidential Symposium highlighted the meeting theme of AI and EI: Caring for the Patient in a Wireless World with sessions highlighting scientific advances in artificial intelligence and biology and a session that highlights the importance of emotional intelligence. Here, Geraldine Jacobson, MD, MBA, MPh, FASTRO, addresses an audience of fellows. 

Catherine C. Park, MD, FASTRO, presents at ASTRO22 on Opportunities in Today's Patient's Journey: Cutting-edge AI in Radiation Oncology. 

Sanjay Aneja, MD, pricipal investigator for Yale's The Aneja Lab, discussed AI vs Machine Learning vs Deep Learning at ASTRO22. 

The 2022 ASTRO annual meeting featured a Presidential Symposium session on artificial intelligence opportunities in today’s patient’s journey, including a presentation by Osama Mohamad, MD, PhD, discussing the state of the art in digital pathology and artificial intelligence in prostate cancer.

Mevion officially debuted the MEVION S250FIT Proton Therapy System at ASTRO22. This new compact system can fit in existing LINAC vaults, making proton therapy more accessible and affordable than ever before. Lionel Bouchet, PhD, SVP of Commercial Development, showcased the new system. Enabled by the world’s smallest self-shielded proton accelerator from Mevion, the MEVION S250-FIT will be the first and only full proton therapy system that can fit in an existing LINAC vault. 

Tina Tianning Yu, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Mevion, stated: “Mevion Medical Systems has a proven 18-year track record of technological innovation. We are excited to be disrupting the industry once again by shrinking proton therapy even more and by making this coveted technology much more accessible to patients who need it the most. Imagine the potential of bringing proton therapy to your cancer center within a year and having it fully integrated with other radiation modalities. Leo Cancer Care’s upright patient positioning system complements Mevion’s core technologies very well. They share our vision of democratizing proton therapy. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with Leo Cancer Care.”

Mark Jones, Chief Technology Officer for Mevion, discussed the MEVION S250-FIT's partnership with Leo Cancer Care.

Read more about the new Mevion S250-FIT Proton Therapy System.

Varian's Tim Clark (L) and Ricky Sharma (R) gave a booth tour of highlights showcasing Varian's products. It was the first time Varian has exhibited in conjunction with Siemens Healthineers. The combined company addresses the full cancer care continuum, and is working to create an oncology ecosystem to support care providers along the entire cancer care journey – from screening to survivorship. 

The Halcyon Hypersight offers improved spatial and contrast resolution to more precisely target tumor volumes and increase sparing of healthy tissue, and allows calculation of dose distribution directly on the CBCT image.

ViewRay hosted a special ASTRO reception at the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk featuring American journalist and founder of Katie Couric Media, Katie Couric, who is also a breast cancer survivor. Pictured, Scott Drake, President and CEO of ViewRay, gives an evening overview and introduces Couric.

ViewRay, the U.S. maker of the MRIdian System, earlier announced a partnership with award-winning journalist and cancer advocate Katie Couric's multi-media company, Katie Couric Media (KCM). ViewRay and KCM are working together to launch a national awareness campaign to educate patients and clinicians about MRIdian SMART (Stereotactic MRI-guided adaptive radiotherapy) for treatment of pancreatic, prostate, lung, liver, breast, colorectal and oligometastatic cancers. Here, she talks about her cancer journey with Scott Drake, President and CEO of ViewRay.

Award-winning journalist and cancer advocate Katie Couric's multi-media company, Katie Couric Media (KCM) talks during a special ViewRay ASTRO reception.

Monday afternoon, ASTRO President Geraldine Jacobson, MD,, MPH, MBA, FASTRO, gave her Presidential Address to Annual Meeting attendees, offering a forward-thinking message on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) can shape the future of radiation oncology.

On Sunday night, October 23, 2022, ViewRay hosted an evening reception with special guest and cancer advocate Katie Couric, as part of ViewRay's previously announced national awareness campaign and partnership with Katie Couric Media to educate patients and clinicians about MRIdian SMART. Couric moderateed a discussion with ViewRay's CEO, Scott Drake, and two radiation oncologists treating patients on MRIdian, Jessica Frakes, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Himanshu Nagar, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine.

As a result of a recent development partnership with patient-positioning company MacroMedics, Philips has also announced compatibility of MacroMedics’ latest DSPS (Double Shell Positioning System) Prominent positioning system with Philips MR Head Neck Coil. This unique solution combines the superior soft-tissue imaging capabilities and the high-resolution image quality of Philips’ head and neck coil with the comfort-enhancing and positional accuracy and stability features of MacroMedics’ mask. These developments aim to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy planning and simulation to help achieve better patient outcomes, enhance patient comfort, and offer the efficiency benefits of an MR-only workflow.

At ASTRO22, Ilya Gipp, MD, PhD, Medical Officer/Oncology for Philips Healthcare, demonstrated the Philips Ingenia MR-RT XD platform, which harnesses the power and value of MRI for radiation therapy planning. Gipp explained that it has been designed around the needs of radiation oncology, with ease-of-use, streamlined integration, and versatility in mind. 

The Philips Spectral CT 7500 features a 80 cm bore, gantry touch-panel control, spectral detector and high-performance patient table. At ASTRO22, Ilya Gipp, MD, PhD, Medical Officer/Oncology for Philips Healthcare, explained that it features zero-compromise to support imaging that is first-time right. 

At ASTRO, ViewRay discussed the first toxicity results from the prospective single-arm Phase II SCIMITAR trial. A secondary analysis compared the findings of treatment under CT-guidance to MRI-guidance and found that patients treated with MRI-guidance had a 30.5 percent reduction in any grade acute GI toxicity and a 32 percent reduction in any grade cumulative GI toxicity up to 6 months. No patient treated with MRI-guided radiation therapy experienced any grade 3 GU or GI toxicity. 

At ASTRO22, ViewRay, Inc.  announced the launch of a phase III randomized controlled trial titled "Locally Advanced Pancreatic cancer treated with ABLATivE stereotactic MRI-guided adaptive radiation therapy" – also known as LAP-ABLATE. LAP-ABLATE will compare stand-alone multi-agent chemotherapy, which is the current standard of care for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, to patients receiving a combination of chemotherapy and 5-fraction MRIdian SMART (stereotactic MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy). The study is designed to demonstrate superior overall survival in patients receiving post-chemotherapy MRIdian SMART. 

MRIdian's SmartVISION provides high-definition, diagnostic-quality MR imaging. SmartVISION was designed to maintain high-fidelity beam delivery while mitigating the risks of skin toxicities, as well as trapped or distorted dose. 

The MRIdian image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) system provides faster, brighter, more detailed anatomical planar imaging to strike tumors with greater precision and accuracy through proprietary technology, which allows for a 2X increase in MRI speed (to 8 frames per second), a 2X increase in image resolution, and a 2X improvement in MR signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

A graph showcasing the treatment versatility of the MRIdian system.

Statistics show that pancreatic cancer is on the rise in the U.S.

A visual explaining how the MRIdian 5 is achieved with MRI imaging, real-time tissue tracking and automated beam gating.

Just days post-ASTRO22, Elekta announced that Elekta Esprit, a new Leksell Gamma Knife radiosurgery platform, received FDA 510(k) clearance. This milestone makes the system available to clinicians and people with brain disease in the U.S., as well as opening the door to other countries where FDA approval is recognized. With a variety of innovations now available in a single platform, Esprit continues to offer clinicians the option of frameless or frame-based workflows with a frame that provides superior visualization. Remote accessibility and collaboration tools for the treatment team are designed to meet the needs of changing environments. Esprit provides the accuracy to treat even the most challenging targets while delivering a gentler more personalized approach to radiosurgery. 

Leksell Vantage’s open face design and innovative materials provide improved patient comfort and offer the potential to reduce overall treatment time.

Elekta announced two new reports from the MOMENTUM Study highlighting the clinical impact of Elekta Unity MR-Linac in treating pancreas and prostate cancers. The abstracts were presented ASTRO22. These reports add to a growing body of evidence showing that enhanced precision radiotherapy using MR-guided on-line adaptation may improve outcomes in both pancreas and prostate cancers, two common treatment indications for radiotherapy.

Mike Rittman, director of product marketing at GE Healthcare, talked about the field of theranostics and its role in prostate cancer. Enabled by molecular imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT), the theranostic approach uses specific targeting compounds for both imaging and therapy of a particular malignancy.

The sensitivity of PET/CT allows clinicians to see disease and lesions earlier, which saves lives.

To help clinicians evaluate the success of these therapies, GE Healthcare developed its breakthrough StarGuide SPECT/CT system with 12 cutting-edge CZT detectors that not only scan patients in 3D to provide more information to clinicians but are also optimized for Theranostics procedures – including imaging this latest Lutetium-177-based prostate cancer therapy. Here, Mike Rittman, director of product marketing at GE Healthcare, demonstrates.

GE's fully automated panel helps keep therapists out of the direct line of exposure; all they need to do is tap 4 buttons, hit start, and then step away. 

The PET gantry.

The ViewRay MRIdian A3i combines auto-contouring, auto-adapting and auto-beam gating in an integrated patient display.

The Sun Nuclear Corporation SunSCAN 3D is a cylindrical water scanning system for linear accelerator (linac) commissioning, beam scanning and annual Quality Assurance (QA) in Radiation Therapy. The SunSCAN 3D water scanning system is the latest addition to Sun Nuclear’s comprehensive solutions portfolio for independent, integrated Quality Management of Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Imaging.

Building on the capabilities of the groundbreaking Sun Nuclear 3D SCANNER water tank, released in 2011 and with more than 1,000 units in use, the SunSCAN 3D water scanning system introduces faster, easier workflows and hyper-accurate dosimetry. This system maintains the cylindrical tank design, which eliminates the need for Medical Physics teams to shift the tank and keeps detector orientation consistent. Users can be ready to scan in just 15 minutes, by simply rolling the tank in place, starting the filling process, and running the faster, more accurate AutoSetup routine.

At ASTRO22, Fujifilm showcased the latest advancements with the Persona CT, the company's all-in-one CT scanner with dual purpose radiology/oncology features. 

RefleXion Medical presented eight clinical abstracts evaluating the potential use and utility of its novel technology during the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2022 Annual Meeting, Oct. 23-26, in San Antonio. ASTRO also served as the setting for introducing SCINTIXÔ as the new product name for RefleXion’s flagship BgRT technology and treatment, provided only through the company’s X1 platform. 

Martha Matuszak, PhD, representing the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), presented on key findings from multiple studies at ASTRO22. Serving on its Board of Directors, Matuszak is a Laurie Snow Research Professor, Associate Chair for Physics, Director of the Physics Division, Clinical Professor at the  University of Michigan.

During the highly-anticipated “Cancer Breakthroughs” session at ASTRO2022, incoming ASTRO President Jeff Michalski, MD, MBA, FASTRO, moderated the presentation of significant findings. Image courtesy of ASTRO.