First use of gating techniques with active scanning proton therapy in Trento

Trento, Italy, 26 September 2017 - The Trento Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS) and IBA announce the successful completion of the first gated treatment at the Proton Therapy Center in Trento.

For the first time, the clinical team in Trento completed a gated treatment for a patient affected by unresectable thymoma. They delivered active scanning proton therapy by synchronizing the proton beams with the patient respiratory cycle. This technique was performed through real time tracking of the patient's respiratory motion, without any use of physical marker (Vision RT ®). The technology of Vision RT ® tracks the patient's 3D surface in real time, which enhances patient comfort and safety, and improves the efficiency of the treatment by the clinical team.

GateCT® was used to track the patient's breathing during the CT scanning and thereby enabling 4DCT acquisition and reconstruction. The evaluation of the interplay effect for a free-breathing treatment is performed using the different phases of the 4DCT.

During treatment delivery, accurate gating was ensured, allowing automatic beam hold when the breathing amplitude was higher than the one measured during the 4DCT scan. 

Dr. Maurizio Amichetti, MD, Clinical Director of the Proton Therapy Center, commented: "This is a big step towards the full implementation of moving-target treatments with pencil beam scanning in our center. The moving-target project team leaders, Dr Francesco Dionisi, MD and Dr Francesco Fracchiolla, M.Sc., reported impressive results in terms of treatment feasibility and efficacy. We are really proud to improve every day with the goal of translating research projects in a clinical benefit for our patients".

Anne Peters, Executive Vice President at IBA added: "At IBA, developing solutions that are clinically significant for the patients and that ease the work of our customers in their clinical practice is our priority. Many patients benefit from the complete solution that we offer for effective treatment of the moving-targets.

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Advanced Oncotherapy updates on development of LIGHT proton therapy system

4 Sepember 2017 – Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, announces that it remains on schedule with the development of the first LIGHT system, with successful integration of three key elements of the device. The first Side Coupled Drift Tube Linac ("SCDTL") accelerating module has been integrated with the Radiofrequency Quadrupole ("RFQ") and proton source, with functionality of the combination and further proton acceleration confirmed through the measurement of the proton beam through all integrated units.  

On 6 March 2017, the Company announced the acceleration of a proton beam through the integrated proton source and RFQ, at the maximum design-anticipated energy of 5 MeV.  

The addition of the first SCDTL is significant as:
1.    It is the first module in the next group of accelerating structures i.e. the SCDTLs. This successful integration confirms the SCDTL design concept and will facilitate the addition of subsequent SCDTL modules.
2.    The proton beam was recorded at 7.5MeV, as expected.  This achievement further validates the design, manufacturing and integration of the LIGHT system.
3.    As with the RFQ, acceleration of the proton beam at relatively low energies is more challenging than at higher ones; this result is, therefore, an important milestone in LIGHT's development.  

When fully integrated with the proton source and RFQ, it is anticipated that four SCDTLs will be capable of producing a proton beam of 37.5MeV.  

Commenting, Nicolas Serandour, CEO of Advanced Oncotherapy, said: "All of our tests to generate and accelerate a proton beam have been successful and this represents significant progress in validating the capabilities of the first in the next group of accelerating components. This is another notable achievement for the team in Geneva and paves the way for the integration and validation of subsequent SCDTL modules.  

"We can confirm that, following these successful trials, the Company remains on track to build a proton therapy system capable of treating superficial tumours by the end of Q3 2018."

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Varian expands clinicians' cancer-fighting toolkit with Eclipse 15.5

PALO ALTO, CALIF., 18 September 2017 – Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced the newest release of its treatment planning system, Eclipse 15.5. This new release has received FDA 510(k) clearance, and incorporates several new treatment capabilities that offer clinicians the ability to create more precise treatment plans quickly. Eclipse 15.5 also provides treatment planning support for Varian's HyperArc HDRT, a new type of radiosurgery treatment.

Eclipse 15.5 features MCO, which allows clinicians to explore what happens when different clinical criteria are varied; such as the degree to which particular organs are spared versus coverage of the targeted tumor.  MCO leverages both RapidPlan™ and the existing optimization workflows to expedite finding the optimal plan for a given patient with minimal trial and error iterations.

For efficient treatment planning and automated delivery of complex stereotactic radiosurgery, Eclipse 15.5 now supports HyperArc. This new type of radiosurgery treatment is designed to capitalize on the unique capabilities of Varian's TrueBeam® and EDGE™ treatment platforms. HyperArc treatments exploit specific capabilities of the platforms to deliver more compact radiation doses that can fully saturate a targeted tumor and "fall off" sharply outside the target zone, minimizing and, where necessary, even eliminating dose to specific organs requiring more protection.

To increase the speed of plan development, Eclipse 15.5 offers Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) support. This enables clinicians to utilize GPU technology to optimize and quickly calculate the dose with Eclipse, including IMRT optimization and the intermediate dose calculation within the optimization.

"With Eclipse 15.5 we have seen an instant improvement in plan quality when using MCO, across a wide range of treatment sites," said Suzanne Currie, clinical scientific lead at Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. "We have been able to reduce doses to organs at risk to levels that could not have been envisaged before now, while at the same time tumour coverage has been maintained or even improved. Even in this short timeframe of using MCO, I would not want to plan without it." 

"Eclipse 15.5 provides clinicians with powerful new tools to quickly create optimized treatment plans that are unique to each patient," said Ed Vertatschitsch, vice president, global portfolio solutions, Varian Medical Systems. "Additionally, the ability to utilize HyperArc for complex stereotactic radiosurgery is a significant step forward in the fight against cancer."

"It can typically take many hours to create treatment plans for each patient," said James Kavanaugh, instructor of Radiation Oncology and chief of affiliate satellite medical physics services at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "When we evaluated about 160 patient treatment plans using the software, we found that it could help us more efficiently explore clinical tradeoffs of various treatment plans and improve the overall plan quality for the majority of cases."

For more information on Eclipse 15.5, visit http://www.varian.com/news/eclipse

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Berlin approves Kuka sale to Midea

The German government has given the green light to a planned sale of robotics firm Kuka to Chinese appliance maker Midea, saying the controversial takeover doesn't hurt Germany's national interests. 

A spokesman for the German Economics Ministry said on Wednesday that the ministry wouldn't launch a formal probe under German export laws into the planned sale. An initial study had produced no evidence the takeover would threaten "the security and the public order of Germany," Andreas Audretsch told German regional television station Bayerischer Rundfunk. "The ministry can only launch a formal inquiry against the sale if crucial German interests such as telecommunications or water and power safety are affected," he added. However, Audretsch also said that Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel would seek to initiate a public debate about how "Europe's open societies" would deal with unfair competition in future.  

China says Kuka bid not about politics. 

Takeover controversy. 

Chinese appliance giant Midea has secured a stake of more than 90 percent in the German industrial robotics supplier Kuka, with a multi-billion-euro offer that stoked controversy in Europe. Midea offered 115 euros ($130) per share for Kuka, valuing the firm at 4.6 billion euros - a premium of nearly 60 percent. Beijing has pushed Chinese companies to "go out" and invest in foreign targets to increase their technological capabilities and seek new markets as economic growth slows at home. But the Kuka deal has raised concerns in Europe about the transfer of high-end technology to a Chinese company which has so far been known only for selling washing machines and air conditioners. Some officials in Brussels and Berlin were reported to oppose a Chinese takeover of the firm. The powerful IG Metall trade union even sought to find different buyers for Kuka shares, pushing for a 25.1 percent stake previously owned by technology company Voith to remain in German hands. But no competing buyer came forward, and Voith sold Midea its shares for 1.2 billion euros, saying the sale made sense for both sides. 

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