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Impac Software Announces Clinical Release of RapidArc Support

Posted on: Friday, 23 January 2009, 08:00 CST

St. John's Hospital (Springfield, Ill.) is the first site to go clinical with Varian's RapidArc (TM) technique supported by Impac Software's MOSAIQ(R) image-enabled oncology information system

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Impac Software, part of the Elekta Group, announces that St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill., has become the first clinical site to utilize MOSAIQ(R), Impac's image-enabled oncology information system, to treat patients using Varian's RapidArc (TM) treatment technique. The result of the collaboration between Impac Software and Varian is the ability of the MOSAIQ oncology information system to support RapidArc technique treatments on Varian's Trilogy radiation therapy treatment system. MOSAIQ support also is available on all other linear accelerators providing volumetric modulated arc therapy treatments such as Elekta's Infinity and Synergy.

Workflow optimization achieved through centralized information management

MOSAIQ provides radiation oncology centers with a sophisticated image-guided treatment management solution that streamlines radiation therapy planning, setup, verification, delivery review and analysis by providing interoperability with all major linear accelerator and imaging vendors in radiation oncology.

"The capability to review VMAT treatments and send data used in the patient's treatment - the CBCT data sets - to the individual patient's electronic record in MOSAIQ is critical," according to Steven J. Wang, Ph.D., DABR, Chief Physicist and Manager of Medical Physics at St. John's Hospital.

"MOSAIQ streamlines our workflow by enabling the physician, the physicist and the dosimetrist to access and review RapidArc treatment delivery information and the CBCT data sets from any networked workstation instead of at the treatment console only," Dr. Wang says. "Powerful features such as daily shift trend review and 3D image registration tools provide better quality assurance - which increases the clinician's confidence regarding the daily setup performed at the therapy console. Simply put, they can review the CBCT images and compare them with the CT planning images all in the same patient record and whenever they wish. It's a very centralized, very convenient tool for the physician and helps create a more complete electronic medical record."

"Impac Software has a 19-year track record of supporting radiation therapy delivery technology from all major vendors," says Jacob Philip, Global Oncology Information Systems Director for Impac Software. "The significance of this latest integration, which combines RapidArc delivery and Impac Software's market-leading oncology information system, is the creation of a multi-vendor solution that functions seamlessly, helping clinicians deliver the best care possible. With our strong collaborative relationship, Impac Software will continue to support new delivery technology from Varian as it becomes available."

Impac Software can duplicate this integration success with most major treatment delivery systems, Philip adds. "No matter which linear accelerator the customer operates, the user environment is designed to be the same, limiting the amount of special user training needed, reducing manual duplicate entry errors, enhancing productivity, reducing costs and improving patient care. Especially now, with economic factors driving increased fiscal prudence, Impac products afford customers the flexibility to select from virtually any planning and delivery technology customized to their specific clinical and budgetary circumstances."

About Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

St. John's treated its first patient - a prostate cancer case - with RapidArc in October and currently is treating five patients with either prostate or head and neck cancer.

RapidArc is a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) that delivers a treatment dose that conforms precisely to the three-dimensional volume of a tumor with a single, continuous rotation of the treatment system's gantry. Volumetric modulated arc therapy differs from helical treatment techniques in that it delivers dose to the whole volume at once, making it fast as well as precise treatment.

About Impac Software

Impac Software, part of the Elekta Group, provides software solutions that streamline clinical and business operations across the spectrum of cancer care. Impac Software's open integration to multiple healthcare data and imaging systems offers oncology-specific patient charting and practice management, as well as systems for anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory and cancer registry. With products that cover diagnosis and treatment through long-term follow-up, Impac Software provides a comprehensive oncology management solution that helps improve overall communication, process efficiency and quality patient care.

Impac Software is part of the Elekta Group, providing oncologists, radiation therapists, neurosurgeons and many other medical specialists with state of the art tools to fight cancer and brain disorders.

With more than 2,500 employees globally, Elekta's corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. More information can be found at www.impac.com and www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Impac Software

Source: PR Newswire

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