November 6, 2012 – GE Healthcare showcased a number of new advanced imaging technologies and software capabilities at the 54thAnnual American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting last week in Boston. The company highlighted several new technologies to help advance the field of radiation oncology by facilitating collaboration in a multidisciplinary environment. This included the recently introduced Q.Suite for use in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, the MD Connect software platform, and wide-bore platforms in magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT).
During the course of cancer treatment, clinicians traditionally gauge progress by looking for physical change in the size of a tumor, typically using CT or MR. However, with quantitative PET imaging, physicians are also able to consider a tumor’s metabolic activity, which can give physicians an earlier view of how well a treatment is working. For quantitative PET to be effective, consistency of SUV measurements between a patient’s baseline scan and subsequent follow-up scans is critical.
Q.Suite is a breakthrough technology that can help clinicians assess cancer treatment response early through the generation of consistent standardized uptake value (SUV) readings. This enables clinicians to assess treatment response more accurately, allowing oncologists to modify treatment strategies without waiting for physical results.
MD Connect was developed to facilitate collaboration between radiation oncologists and the multidisciplinary care team by providing seamless access to a wide breadth of patient information from a multitude of sources in one convenient place. With MD Connect, radiation oncologists have access to a comprehensive suite of oncology applications and patient care tools from virtually any PC anywhere. This thin-client technology aids productivity through improved workflow and streamlining radiation therapy planning.
MD Connect provides fast access to a comprehensive portfolio of applications including, sophisticated tools for virtual simulation, 3-D image fusion and 4-D motion management. These tools are designed to transform the complex into routine and the routine into more efficient to improve workflow.
Wide-Bore CT and MR Platforms
In CT and MR, GE showed its wide-bore portfolio, which offers precise visualization for accurate tumor targeting.
The newest addition to the RT CT portfolio, the Discovery CT590 RT, was designed specifically with treatment planning in mind to help physicians address increasingly specialized imaging needs. For example, the Discovery CT590 RT offers an automated 4-D video organ motion recording feature, which captures organ movement to better adapt to future radiation therapy treatments. Additionally, the patient table design gives radiation oncologists the flexibility to position patients more precisely.
GE Healthcare’s wide-bore MR systems deliver the high spatial integrity required for radiation oncology with an expansive 70 cm wide bore and a 50 cm field of view that accommodates imaging out to the edge of the skin. A wide array of fixation devices, including fully flat table tops and specialized coils for radiation therapy, allow for precise patient positioning that can help minimize patient complications and improve treatment outcomes for brain/head and neck, prostate and GYN tumors. Built on a fully redesigned MR platform, these systems feature advance applications for rapid acquisition of high-resolution isotropic MR images, dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging and advanced workflow incorporated into treatment simulation and planning software programs.