Siemens Healthcare is debuting a range of radiation therapy technology at this week's American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting in San Francisco.
The vendor's Magnetom RT Pro edition brings the advantages of MRI to treatment planning, which until now has been dominated by CT. The offering is based on either a 1.5-tesla Magnetom Aera or 3-tesla Magnetom Skyra scanner, optimized for radiation oncology use.
The package is available with an optional Total imaging matrix (TIM) dockable table, as well as high-channel flex and body coils. It also includes positioning support accessories, MR applications, workflow protocols, and optional syngo.via postprocessing software, according to Siemens.
The company is also launching a dual-room version of its Somatom Definition AS Open Sliding Gantry CT scanner, which mounts a CT scanner on rails for use as a treatment planning system in one room and for therapy guidance in an adjacent room. Patients can be prepped in one room while scans are performed in another, improving department efficiency, according to the company.
Siemens is also highlighting its partnership with Varian Medical Systems. Siemens' linear accelerator customers can now use the company's volumetric modulated arc planning technique in conjunction with Varian's Eclipse treatment planning software.
Siemens said it is also demonstrating new radiation therapy-related features for its Biograph mCT PET/CT family, including how its 4D one-click phase-match gating technology can assist in the management of lung cancer patients by providing clearer images of moving tumors.
