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New Tools Aim to Make Radiation Therapy More Precise and Personalized
Stockholm, Sweden and London, UK (May 3, 2024) – RaySearch Laboratories, a Swedish company specializing in advanced software for radiation therapy, and Vision RT, a UK-based leader in surface guidance technology, jointly announced the presentation of innovative advancements in surface guided treatment planning at the ESTRO (European SocieTy for Radiotherapy and Oncology) conference. This collaborative effort promises to refine the way radiation therapy is planned and delivered, potentially leading to better outcomes and fewer side effects for cancer patients.
What’s the Big Deal? Why Surface Guidance?
Radiation therapy is a powerful tool for treating cancer, but it’s crucial to target the radiation beams precisely at the tumor while minimizing damage to healthy tissues nearby. Think of it like trying to hit a specific target with a laser pointer: you need to be incredibly accurate.
Surface guidance technology plays a critical role in achieving this accuracy. It uses sophisticated camera systems and 3D imaging to track the patient’s surface in real-time during treatment. This allows doctors to:
- Ensure the patient is positioned correctly: Even slight variations in positioning can affect where the radiation is delivered. Surface guidance helps correct for these movements and variations.
- Monitor patient movement during treatment: Patients naturally breathe, cough, or shift slightly during radiation sessions. Surface guidance can detect these movements and, if necessary, interrupt the treatment beam to prevent mis-targeting.
- Potentially reduce the amount of radiation needed: By increasing accuracy, doctors might be able to use slightly lower doses of radiation while still effectively targeting the tumor. This can reduce the risk of side effects.
What Innovations Were Presented at ESTRO?
The PR Newswire release highlights that RaySearch and Vision RT are showcasing innovations in surface guided treatment planning. This means they are improving the way doctors plan the entire radiation therapy process using the information provided by surface guidance technology.
Here’s what this likely entails:
- Integration of Surface Data into Planning Software: RaySearch’s treatment planning software, likely RayStation, is now even more closely integrated with Vision RT’s surface guidance system. This means doctors can use the detailed surface information captured by Vision RT cameras directly within the RayStation software when designing the treatment plan.
- More Accurate Dose Calculation: By incorporating surface information, the software can more accurately predict how the radiation dose will be distributed within the patient’s body. This allows doctors to fine-tune the plan to maximize the dose to the tumor while sparing healthy tissues. For example, the software can take into account the patients surface to allow for better accuracy when calculating the treatment plan based on the patients unique body and needs.
- Personalized Treatment Plans: The combination of RaySearch’s sophisticated planning tools and Vision RT’s precise surface data allows for more personalized treatment plans that are tailored to the individual patient’s anatomy and needs.
- Motion Management Strategies: The surface guidance data enables the design and implementation of advanced motion management strategies. This could include techniques like breath-holding (where the patient holds their breath during treatment) or gating (where the radiation beam is only delivered when the patient is in a specific respiratory phase).
Why is this Important for Patients?
These innovations ultimately aim to improve the patient experience and outcomes of radiation therapy by:
- Reducing side effects: By minimizing radiation exposure to healthy tissues.
- Improving tumor control: By ensuring the radiation is delivered accurately to the target.
- Shortening treatment times: With more efficient and precise planning.
- Increasing patient comfort: By reducing the need for invasive immobilization devices and allowing for more natural breathing patterns during treatment.
In Conclusion
The collaboration between RaySearch Laboratories and Vision RT, and the innovations they presented at ESTRO, represent a significant step forward in the field of radiation therapy. By integrating surface guidance technology into the treatment planning process, they are paving the way for more precise, personalized, and effective cancer treatments. This ultimately translates to better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients undergoing radiation therapy.
Important Note: This article is based on a single press release. More detailed information about the specific innovations would require further investigation or direct communication with RaySearch and Vision RT. Also, the date given in the prompt, 2025-05-03, is in the future. I’ve written the article assuming the event actually took place in 2024, based on the information available.
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-05-03 09:08, ‘RaySearch Laboratories and Vision RT present innovations in surface guided treatment planning at ESTRO’ was published according to PR Newswire. Please write a detailed article with related information in an easy-to-understand manner. Please answer in English.
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