April 24, 2013 — Varian Medical Systems and Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) announced a collaboration to further advance motion management techniques for proton therapy. The multi-year agreement, aimed at optimizing treatment strategies for indications such as cancer in the lung, liver, pancreas and breast, will evaluate strategies using a 4-D treatment planning simulator developed by PSI.
Proton therapy involves the use of a controlled beam of protons to target tumors with higher levels of precision than is possible with other forms of radiation therapy, potentially limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissue.
The Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland is a pioneer in the development of intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) techniques, and specializes in the treatment of pediatric patients. "We hope to exploit our unique methods for simulating clinically realistic organ motions for the study of motion mitigation techniques for spot scanned proton therapy," says Professor Tony Lomax from PSI. "This project will utilize 4-D motion data sets and dose calculations that can uniquely model patient motion variations that are difficult to capture with conventional data sets."
"Varian's ProBeam proton system was developed in collaboration with the PSI," says Moataz Karmalawy, general manager of Varian's Particle Therapy division. "We are delighted to expand our partnership with this internationally respected institute to include the development of indications-specific solutions. This collaboration will support our customers in the fight against cancers that have not typically been treated with proton therapy in the past."
The ability to treat moving tumors is increasingly important for proton therapy facilities worldwide. "When testing motion mitigation techniques, it's important to have a tool that can simulate the timed dose delivery for realistic tumor cases to determine the relative merit of the different techniques," says Jan Timmer, marketing director for Varian Particle Therapy. "PSI has developed excellent software for 4-D treatment planning and we want to support its further development and the ongoing evaluation of motion management techniques."
For more information: www.varian.com
