Healthcare Industry News: TomoDirect
News Release - April 13, 2010
TomoTherapy Installs 300th Hi-Art(R) Treatment System Worldwide
Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini of Aosta, Italy, Establishes Radiation Oncology Program With Advanced, Integrated Image-Guided Radiation Therapy SolutionMADISON, WI, April 13--(HSMN NewsFeed) - TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ:TOMO ), maker of advanced, integrated radiation therapy solutions for cancer care, today announced the 300th installation of its flagship Hi-Art® treatment system. With the introduction of TomoTherapy® technology, Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini of Aosta, Italy, is expanding beyond its diagnostic services to offer image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). The hospital's TomoTherapy Hi-Art treatment system, equipped with TomoHelical™ and TomoDirect™ delivery capabilities, is the only linear accelerator installed in the Valle d'Aosta region.
The TomoTherapy platform was selected after a thorough review of available radiation oncology solutions, in cooperation with the Azienda USL Valle d'Aosta regional and local health services administrations. "The installation of the highly advanced TomoTherapy treatment system fulfills a primary objective of our organization: to bring an innovative cancer treatment solution to our region's cancer patients," said Dr. Carla Stefania Riccardi, general manager of Azienda USL Valle d'Aosta. "TomoTherapy technology will serve the local population well and, at the same time, attract cancer patients from surrounding areas."
The Hi-Art treatment system allows clinicians to efficiently acquire a low-dose helical CT image immediately prior to each daily treatment, to help ensure precise patient positioning based on internal anatomy. Then, using the same equipment as used in imaging, the treatment team can deliver highly-precise radiation to complex target volumes in a continuous, 360-degree pattern using the TomoHelical delivery mode. The TomoDirect delivery mode facilitates a non-rotational delivery option that enables clinicians to quickly plan and deliver advanced TomoTherapy radiation treatments with a series of linear beam paths, rather than a single helical delivery path, thereby improving efficiency in the treatment of more routine cancer cases.
One common database is used throughout the TomoTherapy workflow, from treatment planning and optimization; to image guidance and treatment delivery; to record and verify; and the simple adaptation of plans. The planning workstation, operator console, treatment unit itself and a powerful computing cluster are each directly connected to the database. Because treatment plans are saved to this central database, from where the radiation delivery system reads and carries out the instructions for beam production and collimation, no operator-controlled transfer of treatment delivery data is necessary. This minimizes the risk of data corruption and loss.
"In choosing to expand the services of our cancer center, we carefully reviewed all available radiation oncology systems," said Prof. Teodoro Meloni, director of the department for diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology at Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini. "The TomoTherapy platform emerged as the ideal solution to meet the diversity of needs for our region's cancer patients."
"The TomoTherapy platform was designed to bring superior quality to the most complex cancer treatments," added Dr. Franca Ozzello, director of radiation therapy for Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini. "The platform has further evolved to bring this same high quality to more common indications. We are pleased to announce that our region's residents no longer need to travel for the high quality care they require."
"The TomoTherapy system is unique among radiation therapy devices in its computed tomography (CT) scanner-based design, and for its dosimetric characteristics," commented Dr. Santi Tofani, director of medical physics for Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini. "We believe that TomoTherapy represents the most advanced solution for highly precise radiation therapy."
Key Milestone for TomoTherapy
Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini becomes the 300th TomoTherapy treatment system to be installed worldwide, and the 10th in Italy, since the Hi-Art treatment system's commercial introduction in 2003. Two additional centers in Italy will introduce TomoTherapy technology in the coming months.
"TomoTherapy is very pleased to announce the 300th Hi-Art treatment system installation, another key milestone in the adoption of our next-generation radiation therapy platform," said Fred Robertson, TomoTherapy CEO. "We are honored that Ospedale Regionale Umberto Parini selected TomoTherapy as their partner for establishing its radiation oncology program, and are confident that patients will benefit greatly from the availability of this technology closer to home."
About TomoTherapy Incorporated
TomoTherapy Incorporated develops, markets and sells advanced radiation therapy solutions that can be used to treat a wide variety of cancers, from the most common to the most complex. The ring gantry-based TomoTherapy® platform combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. TomoTherapy's suite of solutions include its flagship Hi-Art® treatment system, which has been used to deliver more than three million CT-guided, helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fractions; the TomoHD™ treatment system, designed to enable cancer centers to treat a broader patient population with a single device; and the TomoMobile™ relocatable radiation therapy solution, designed to improve access and availability of state-of-the-art cancer care. TomoTherapy's stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO. To learn more about TomoTherapy, please visit TomoTherapy.com.
©2010 TomoTherapy Incorporated. All rights reserved. TomoTherapy, Tomo, TomoDirect, TQA, the TomoTherapy logo and Hi-Art are among trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of TomoTherapy Incorporated in the United States and other countries.
Source: TomoTherapy
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