RadPro 365 Live News-Zone for October 2019

Xstrahl Launches the New SARRP Beamline for Proton, Photon, Carbon and Flash Pre-Clinical Experiments.

Xstrahl Life Science, global leader in the development of advanced X–ray systems for pre-clinical radiation biology research, is launching its latest radiation research platform. The new SARRP beamline system is a fully comprehensive radiation research platform to be used with proton, photon, carbon and flash experiments, offering researchers an unparalleled level of imaging.
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What is FLASH Radiotherapy?
With some of our partner companies regularly promoting FLASH Radiotherapy as a novel research tool and its rapid introduction to main stream radiotherapy parlance and to our attention as radiotherapy practitioners largely this year, we ask what is it and where is it heading? This recent link explains it well.
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• Follow the journey of an orthovoltage radiotherapy patient at the Cheltenham General Hospital, UK. Watch here. 

• Machine learning is one of the fastest-growing areas of technology today. It has had a key role in advances in many fields, and its significance for the future of healthcare is potentially enormous. Watch here.

• As we recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Elekta salutes everyone who has been touched by this disease – those currently undergoing treatment, those who are breast cancer survivors and everyone who has helped a friend or loved one navigate their treatment journey. Watch here

• Flash Radiotherapy. In this video, IntraOp, the leader in electron therapy, demonstrates the first mobile linear accelerator available for preclinical and research testing of FLASH radiation with electrons.  Watch here.

• Xstrahl and Washington DC-based C&C Irradiator Service are announcing a partnership to supply next generation X-ray irradiator systems to replace cesium sources across the U.S.   Used throughout the world, with hundreds in the United States, Cesium-137 is a radioactive source used in equipment such as older generation radiotherapy systems and irradiators. However, it is a potentially dangerous radioactive isotope that is difficult to dispose of safely and responsibly, and its potential use in a terrorist attack also causes concern. Read more.

• With the rates of skin cancers ever increasing, especially in places with high sun prevalence, treatment of these conditions can cause not only a demand on resources, but there is a lack of unified response and the best way to treat.
  This is why Prof. Gerald Fogarty of GenesisCare in Australia has used the Xstrahl 150 system to treat four cases of skin cancer. The process and results of the treatments have been summarised as case studies, which demonstrate how superficial radiotherapy can be the best choice for these conditions. Read more. 

• RaySearch has received a new regulatory clearance from the Chinese authorities NMPA (previously CFDA) for the treatment planning system RayStation®.
  With this clearance RaySearch can continue to supply the innovative and machine agnostic RayStation to customers in China. With its large population, China puts stringent requirement on speed and efficiency in the treatment process in order to offer advanced radiotherapy treatments to as many patients as possible. This also suits RayStation well, as it has a strong automation focus and can easily be scaled to fit each customer’s needs and requirements. Read more. 

• RaySearch has signed a contract with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to become one of the agency's preferred providers of radiation therapy software to hospitals within the Veterans Health Administration.
  The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, serving approximately 9 million veterans each year, of which around 40,000 patients are newly diagnosed cancer patients. The National Acquisition Center (NAC) is responsible for supporting the health care requirements of the VA and other government agencies, awards national contracts and blanket purchase agreements for the acquisition and direct delivery of treatment planning systems (TPS), as well as oncology information systems (OIS). Read more.

• Today, big data and analytics are changing the way decisions are made – from everyday business challenges to differentiating a company in an effort to gain competitive advantage.
  Rather than relying on historical trends and intuition when maintaining inventory, pricing solutions or hiring employees, companies are embracing data and analytics for faster and more fact-based decision-making. Companies like Hulu and Netflix, for example, work with an abundance of big data daily to analyze user tendencies, trends in consumption and much more. Read more. 

• Elekta announces that its Elekta Unity magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT) system has been awarded the Institute of Physics (IOP) Business Innovation Award 2019.
  The IOP Business Awards are the only awards recognizing companies in the UK and Ireland that have built success on the innovative application of physics. The Award is a tremendous mark of recognition that the recipient company is at the cutting edge of physics and business.
  Read more.

What we’re reading in the Press and International Media, some selected thought-provoking stories:

Installation of state-of-the-art radiation therapy equipment has placed the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies’ (R[D]SVS) Hospital for Small Animals at the forefront of veterinary cancer treatment in Europe.

The introduction of the Varian Medical Systems VitalBeam linear accelerator is said to herald a new era of radiotherapy to pets in the UK, offering the same cutting-edge radiation treatment options you would find in any human hospital. Read more. 

Breast cancer death rate falls 44% in almost 30 years

The death rate for women with breast cancer has plunged 44% in nearly 30 years, according to new figures. Analysis by Cancer Research UK suggests that more than 130,000 UK breast cancer deaths have been avoided in the last three decades. Deaths from the disease hit a record high in 1989, when around 15,600 women lost their lives to breast cancer. Read more.
 

Gut Bacteria “Fingerprint” Can Predict Radiotherapy Side Effects

Taking a “fingerprint” of the mix of bacteria in the gut can indicate how susceptible individual cancer patients are to gut damage as a result of radiotherapy for prostate and gynaecological cancers, a new study shows. Read more.

Breath-hold technique reduces patient motion during radiotherapy

A new technique to reduce or eliminate breathing-related movement during radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging exams has been developed by researchers at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Read more.
 

Prostate cancer patients can now have side effects of radiotherapy reduced, according to surgeon Tim Dudderidge.

A life-changing gel injection, known as SpaceOAR hydrogel, is now being used by Southampton Read more. 
clinicians, and reduces the amount of radiation that can pass through the prostate and damage the rectum during treatment. Read more.

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Xstrahl, global leader in superficial radiotherapy devices to treat non-melanoma skin cancer and dermatological conditions, has launched new dermatology-specific modules to the Xstrahl Learning Portal. You can sign up here: http://xstrahl-learning.com
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