the focus of this newsletter lies on Cancer Treatment. We are happy and honored presenting you our OncoSuite® patient positioning system completed for Rinecke Proton Center in Munich, as well our new release of SWIFT, a major tool against prostate cancer. Last but not least, our panorama software for turning your U/S device to a paramount scanning tool!

MedCom is participating in the following event: DEGRO 2007 (07-10 June, booth 51). We will present all of the above products there and are happy welcoming you personally.

Wishing you a lot of fun reading our newsletter.

Sincerely yours,
Prof. Dr. Georgios Sakas

Content:

MedCom releases OncentraProstate v3.0
Together with its long-time partners Nucletron B.V. and Pi-Medical Ltd. MedCom releases the next generation of its HDR brachy-planning tool "OncetraProstate", former named "Swift". OncentraProstate allows fully 3D virtual treatment planning. Stepper driven acquisitions, advanced contouring, catheter placement and plan optimization routines guarantee a plan within minutes. Additionally the usage of life ultrasound imaging guidance results in a precise implantation of real needles. Easy adaptation of previous planning stages, the support of standard protocols and the direct connection to the afterloader control unit minimize the treatment time. OncentraProstate distributed by Nucletron B.V. is built in a high portable cart including the complete planning hardware and the required external interfaces. It is compatible with all known ultrasound devices supporting standard video output. New features of v3.0 are: Multi modality planning supporting image fusion Full DICOM compatibility using Nucletron Smoothbase Template free catheter handling Inverse planning New advanced optimization and evaluation algorithms
For additional information see www.nucletron.com

New release of 3D and Panorama software for portable US devices

MedCom has recently released an update for its successful ScanTelemed ultrasound software designed for adding 3D and panorama functionality for TELEMED’s EchoBlaster series USB scanners. ScanTelemed integrates with TELEMED’s EchoWave 2D ultrasound application allowing user performing freehand 3D scans and reconstructing panoramic images out of a cine sequence. The 3D part is designed mainly for gynecological applications. With this software the practitioner can see for example a fetus’ face or whole body. Additionally, ScanTelemed is equipped with powerful 3D visualization tools like different visualization modes, volume cutting, oblique cut, video creation module, presets, histogram and many more. The Panorama module is very useful for musculoskeletal, endocrinological or breast imaging and other applications. Its functionality principle is gluing a 2D sequence into one image with large anatomical field of view. Images obtained with this technique display for example both lobes of the thyroid gland on a single image providing thereby an accurate imaging representation of a variety of thyroid disorders. The newly released update features length estimation option for panoramic images:   For details please see:

www.medcom-online.de/applications/radio/scanlite/scanlite.htm www.medcom-online.de/applications/radio/scannt/scannt.htm www.telemed.lt/main_en.htm

VeriSuite® MedCom PVS in RPTC

In 2004 MedCom has been selected as technology provider of the patient Position Cerification System (PVS) for the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center (RPTC) in Munich, the first commercial center for the treatment of cancer with protons in Europe. MedCom developed and delivered an integrated PVS operable in both, rotating gantries as well as static-beam rooms, employing two X-ray source and able to automatically correct the position of the patient within a few seconds. MedCom's VeriSuite(R) follows the following technical principle: The patient is positioned on the treatment table and two X-ray images are acquired it-situ. In addition, the system calculates two DRRs from a high resolution CT scan of the patient at the desired (= ideal) treatment position. The acquired X-rays defining the current patient position are compared with the ideal position as given by the DRR images. A fully automated procedure calculates then within a few seconds all movements in 6 degrees of freedom (i.e. 3 shifts and 3 rotations) necessary for correcting potential patient misplacements. The resulting correction vector is communicated to a motorized table, which autonomously shifts the patient to the ideal treatment position. MedCom had successfully installed, calibrated and tested the VeriSuite(R) system in RPTC in Munich already in May 2006. In the mean time Varian Medical Systems became new owner of Accel Intruments GmbH and will provide the Proton technology to RPTC. We expect therefore that treatment of patients in Munich may start soon. MedCom, being the only provider world-wide of such an advanced PVS within a rotating proton gantry, appreciates the progress in this project in order to demonstrate the superiority, clinical & technical maturity of VeriSuite(R), which will be also available as add-on for linear accelerators (LINACS) in the near future.

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