RayStation in clinical use for proton arc therapy at the Trento Proton Therapy Center
RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ) is proud to announce that discrete proton arc optimization in RayStation, combined with standard delivery techniques and treatment workflows, now is used to treat patients at the Trento Proton Therapy Center in Italy.
Proton therapy is one of the most advanced forms of radiotherapy, utilizing very localized energy deposition that can be steered to precisely treat the tumor. These treatments are conventionally delivered from a limited number of directions. In discrete proton arc therapy, the protons are instead delivered over 20 to 30 directions. While treatment times for this technique could substantially decrease with updated treatment machines, discrete proton arc plans can be converted to standard plans and delivered by any existing proton machine.
The Medical Physics team at the Trento Proton Therapy Center recently finalized an extensive research study, where they compared their current treatment planning technique for head and neck cancer patients with proton arcs and noted large dose reductions outside the tumor volume with proton arcs, confirming what previous preclinical work had suggested. As a next step, they performed quality assurance measurements with a detector designed for arc therapy and assessed the impact on the clinical workflow in terms of, for example, treatment time. The conclusion was that discrete proton arc therapy delivered by their current treatment system from IBA is clinically feasible and treatments have now started.
Frank Lohr, Medical Chair, and Francesco Fracchiolla, Project Lead Arc Therapy, Medical Physicist, both at Trento Proton Therapy Center: "In the same way as VMAT has revolutionized radiotherapy with photons, proton arc treatments have the potential to unlock significant additional benefits in proton therapy, taking it to the next level in several clinical indications The collaboration between radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and RaySearch has been the key to this progress in delivery technique."
Johan Löf, founder and CEO, RaySearch: “The start of proton arc treatments marks a major milestone in proton therapy, and it has been great to see the commitment of the team at the Trento Proton Therapy Center in introducing the technique into their clinical workflow. I am proud that RaySearch has played an instrumental role in pioneering proton arc therapy by advanced optimization algorithms and planning tools.”
For more information, please contact:
Johan Löf, founder and CEO, RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ)
Telephone: +46 (0) 8 510 530 00
johan.lof@raysearchlabs.com
ABOUT APSS TRENTO PROTON THERAPY CENTER
The Trento Proton Therapy center of the Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS) is part of the Radiation Oncology Network Trentino-Alto Adige (Radiotherapy Trento and Proton Therapy Trento of APSS, Radiotherapy Bolzano), and is the only operating fully public proton center in Italy. It started its clinical activity in October 2014. Until October 2024, more than 2,400 patients have been treated. The treatment system is an IBA ProteusPlus with two 360° gantry rooms, online Volume Image Guidance (V-IGRT) and a research area with two horizontal beam lines. The center can treat all relevant clinical indications, with special expertise in the treatment of Chordomas/Sarcomas, Pediatric Cancer, Rare Head and Neck Cancer and in the treatment of all targets in organs subject to respiratory movement. The main research interest of the center is the further technical improvement of proton therapy treatment paradigms such as Proton ARC therapy, V-IGRT and FLASH and the optimal integration of proton therapy in multidisciplinary treatment concepts on a clinical and preclinical level. The center participates in the international PROTECT and STOPSTORM research consortia.
The Proton Arc Project was a collaborative effort of Medical Physics (Francesco Fracchiolla Ph.D., Project Lead; Stefano Lorentini Ph.D., Coordinator Medical Physics Proton Therapy; Annalisa Trianni Ph.D., Director, Medical Physics, APSS) and Proton Radiation Oncology (Irene Giacomelli MD, Benedetta Siniscalchi MD, Marco Cianchetti MD, Vice-Director and Frank Lohr MD, Director of the Proton Center).
ABOUT RAYSEARCH
RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ) is a medical technology company that develops innovative software solutions for improved cancer treatment. RaySearch markets the RayStation®* treatment planning system (TPS) and the oncology information system (OIS) RayCare®*. The most recent additions to the RaySearch product line are RayIntelligence® and RayCommand®*. RayIntelligence is an oncology analytics system (OAS) which enables cancer clinics to collect, structure and analyze data. RayCommand, a treatment control system (TCS), is designed to link the treatment machine and the treatment planning and oncology information systems.
RaySearch's software has been sold to over 1,000 clinics in 44 countries. The company was founded in 2000 as a spin-off from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the share has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2003. More information is available at raysearchlabs.com.
ABOUT RAYSTATION
RayStation®* is a flexible, innovative treatment planning system, chosen by many leading cancer centers worldwide. It combines unique features such as unmatched adaptive therapy capabilities, multi-criteria optimization, market-leading algorithms for treatment plan optimization for HDR brachytherapy and external beam therapy with photons, electrons, and protons, as well as helium and carbon ions. RayStation supports a wide range of treatment machines, providing one control center for all treatment planning needs and ensuring centers get greater value from existing equipment. RayStation also seamlessly integrates with RayCare®*. By harmonizing the treatment planning, the care of cancer patients worldwide is improved.
* Subject to regulatory clearance in some markets.
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