RadPro 365 News-Zone for January 2019

Welcome to the new-look RadPro 365 Live monthly news-zone for 2019 incorporating the previous e-Lectron e-news and the latest monthly news from our partner companies and organisations in Radiotherapy

Elekta Unity integrates the best of two worlds to create a new paradigm in cancer care

Uniting high-field 1.5T MR imaging, precision radiation therapy and intelligent software without compromise, Elekta Unity provides a tailored solution for the new field of magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT). The combination of technologies enables you to see and track the target, including changes in tumor position, shape and biology, and provides the real-time information you need to respond immediately—all while the patient is on the table.

Read the very latest news on Unity here:
1.            Since receiving CE mark in June 2018, Elekta Unity MR-linac has been transforming the care of cancer patients in Europe. Read more.
2.            Since receiving CE Mark, Elekta Unity has been used for more than 250 treatments. The treatment regimen for the first patient was 5 fractions of 7Gy given over a 10-day treatment period using a stereotactic IMRT approach. Read more.
3.            The clinical implementation of Elekta Unity by The Royal Marsden and the ICR team, just three months after the system received CE mark, is an example of the power of Elekta’s consortium-based approach to the development of this transformative technology. Read more.
4.            UMC Utrecht’s use of Elekta Unity today demonstrates the practicality of the Unity workflow to adapt the patient’s treatment to his or her daily anatomy using real time, diagnostic quality imaging, integrated with a next generation linear accelerator. Read more.
5.            On January 4, the first site in the United States began treating patients with the Elekta Unity MR-linac. In this article from MD Anderson Cancer Center, read how the technology is allowing clinicians to see where the radiation dose is being delivered, as it’s being delivered: Read more.

 

Liz Raspa | Marketing Manager, UK Ireland & Nordics
Elekta Limited - Cornerstone, London Road
Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9BL, United Kingdom
Office: +44 1293 654 827 | Mobile: +44 7899 845460
Liz.Raspa@elekta.com | www.elekta.com

Is the Proton Immortal? 

According to the Standard Model of particle physics, the theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions, and not including the gravitational force) in the universe, as well as classifying all known elementary particles, protons are inherently stable and will not decay into other particles.

Other theories, however, contend that they do. If true, that means that in the astronomically distant future, the entire universe might disintegrate. For decades, experiments in Japan and the U.S. have watched for signs of proton decay, yet have found no evidence that this occurs.

A free proton is a pretty common sight in the cosmos. Much of the ordinary matter (as opposed to dark matter) in galaxies and beyond comes in the form of hydrogen plasma, a hot gas made of unattached protons and electrons. If protons were as unstable as neutrons, that plasma would eventually vanish.
But that isn’t happening. Protons—whether inside atoms or drifting free in space—appear to be remarkably stable. We’ve never seen one decay.
However, nothing essential in physics forbids a proton from decaying. In fact, a stable proton would be exceptional in the world of particle physics, and several theories demand that protons decay.
If protons are not immortal, what happens to them when they die, and what does that mean for the stability of atoms?
After all, proton decay follows from profound concepts of how the cosmos fundamentally operates. If protons do decay, it’s so rare that human bodies would be unaffected, but not our understanding.

The impact of that knowledge would be immense, and worth a tiny bit of instability and something to consider when you deliver proton beam therapy to your patients

• Moments that matter 
• Elekta Unity CE System

• First clinical experience with RayCare at Iridium Kankernetwork
• Machine Learning at RaySearch

• SolsticeTM SRS Immobilization System from CIVCO
• SolstatTM Immobilozation System from CIVCO

Curated news items from partner companies, organisation and the press/media

In this section we will take the latest corporate news items from our partner company’s PR/News pages

Elekta

Elekta Unity, Elekta's transformative radiation therapy delivery system, receives Good Design Award 2018

Award showcases Elekta's and DCA's ability to innovate new, precision technology that directly addresses the needs of cancer patients and physicians. Read more.

NHS England confirms superior dose gradient of Leksell Gamma Knife: Eighteen centers participate in UK commissioning program

In intracranial SRS, the steeper dose gradient that Leksell Gamma Knife® provides, in comparison to other SRS platforms, not only ensures better sparing of organs-at-risk (OARs), it enables clinicians to adhere to a “zero margin PTV philosophy,” investigators maintained in the largest planning evaluation of SRS centers and platforms to date. The results of their study were published recently in Practical Radiation Oncology. Read more. 

5 questions for Elekta’s Else Meijer, Director of Services & Installed Base Product Marketing on evolution of SupportPlus to Elekta Care Community

Wavelength interviewed Elekta’s Else Meijer, Director of Services & Installed Base Product Marketing about the transformation of Elekta’s SupportPlus customer portal to Elekta Care™ Community, the new, user-friendly online customer community that brings the power of Elekta Care straight to your desktop. Former SupportPlus users were automatically switched over to Elekta Care Community, while any customers can register for the new portal by visiting the Elekta Care Community. Read more. 
 

RaySearch

RaySearch releases the first-ever machine learning applications in a treatment planning system with new version of RayStation

The latest version of the innovative radiation therapy treatment planning system (TPS) RayStation has been released*. RayStation 8B brings many ground-breaking advances, including some highly anticipated automation applications using machine learning and deep learning. Other major news in RayStation 8B include a new module for evaluation of robustness of treatment plans and photon Monte Carlo dose. Read more.

RaySearch releases new version of the RayCare OIS

RaySearch has released RayCare 2C*, a new version of the next generation oncology information system (OIS). RayCare is designed to support the workflow in a modern oncology center, connecting the different oncology disciplines, boosting efficiency and ensuring optimal use of resources. RayCare is developing rapidly in collaboration with some of the leading cancer centers worldwide, and this is the third release of the system in 2018. Read more. 

RaySearch expands product line-up with a treatment control system, RayCommand, and receives order from AVO

RaySearch has decided to develop a treatment control system, RayCommand. The first customer will be Advanced Oncotherapy plc (AVO), a UK based developer of next generation proton therapy technology. AVO will use it for the first LIGHT (Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology) system at the proton therapy facility under construction at Harley Street in central London, UK. Read more.
 

Imaging Equipment Ltd

Sono403™ Multi-Purpose Phantoms – Ensure accurate screening, diagnosis and monitoring

Perform efficient QA testing of ultrasound systems and transducers. Use across a variety of applications, including General Radiology, Musculoskeletal, Cardiology, Emergency, Pediatrics, Radiotherapy and Surgical. Helps you exceed ACR, ECR, AIUM and other international program requirements. Read more.

New Radiation Bra

The Chabner XRT™ Radiation Bra provides optimal breast support, patient comfort and dignity, and reproducibility during simulation, planning and radiation treatment. Designed by a female radiation oncologist, the bra can be used for breast support during other radiologic procedures such as CT, MRI and diagnostic X-rays. Read more.

Marie Curie discovered new elements, pioneered radiotherapy and was one of the first to examine the sub-atomic world, before a scandal saw her adopted homeland turn its back on her. Years later, France would owe her an enormous debt when she took to the front lines of the First World War with a fleet of mobile X-ray units.

You can vote here.

Prostate cancer breakthrough to save your sex life as thousands of NHS patients could soon benefit from experimental pinpoint radiotherapy

Thousands of NHS prostate cancer patients could soon benefit from an experimental form of radiotherapy that blasts tumours with pinpoint precision.
By avoiding ‘collateral damage’ to surrounding healthy tissues, the hope is that the high-tech proton-beam therapy will save scores of men from nerve and blood vessel damage that leads to erectile dysfunction and incontinence – two of the most feared complications for those suffering the disease.
Read More.

Radiotherapy should be given at different times of day to reduce terrible side effects according to a new study from Leicester University.
A breakthrough study by genetic scientists at the University of Leicester shows that radiotherapy toxicity - the side effects from radiotherapy - can be reduced by scheduling treatment according to the body’s circadian rhythm.
They found that 24 percent of patients treated in the morning had bright red skin after radiotherapy compared to 11 percent of those treated in the afternoon. Read more. 
 

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