Osaka City University Hospital (Osaka, Japan) is implementing Elekta’s Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), which is an innovative cancer treatment.
Using a combination of Elekta Synergy and ERGO++ treatment planning, VMAT can shorten treatment times and provides precise, organ-sparing radiation therapy. The first VMAT treatment at Osaka City University Hospital took place on March 9, 2009. The treatment was a fractional dose of 2 Gy, delivered to a patient with prostate cancer, and the delivery time was just 110 seconds. Assistant Professor Kentaro Ishii, MD, PhD, said, “A simple inverse plan, with dose constraints to the target and several organs at risk, resulted in a dose distribution comparable to IMRT. The delivery time of less than two minutes was just amazing.” VMAT with Elekta Synergy and ERGO++ treatment planning system provides simultaneous control of gantry position and speed, multileaf collimator (MLC) leaves, dose rate and collimator angle, while the beam is on and rotating. ERGO++ uses a special algorithm to perform split-second dose calculations, enabling highly conformal and complex plans, while ensuring the maximum possible dose is delivered to the target. Osaka City University Hospital is the second facility in Japan to begin VMAT treatments. Since the first patient was treated in March, two additional prostate patients have been treated with VMAT. Plans are now being made to begin treating brain tumours, as well as head and neck tumours. “In Japan, the number of cancer patients has been dramatically increasing, leading to problematically high demands on Radiotherapy facilities,” says Dr Ishii. “VMAT is our quantum-leap solution to provide high precision treatment to the quickly increasing cancer population.” |
