Siemens technology ‘could bring hope to cancer patients’

Siemens has announced the launch of its Artiste Solution and has expressed hopes that the next-generation technology could bring hope to cancer patients.

The system has gone clinical in three cancer centres around the world: the Masstro Clinic in the Netherlands, Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Centre in the US and the German Cancer Research Centre in Hedelberg.

A linear accelerator, the Artiste Solution has been engineered for adaptive radiation therapy, offering a comprehensive portfolio of image-guided and advanced treatment delivery protocols.

These include a new multileaf collimator known as 160 MLC and CT imaging capabilities.

Siemens notes that the goal of adaptive radiation therapy is to facilitate the precise delivery of the therapeutic dose to its target, sparing healthy tissue in the process.

Bas Nijsten, medical radiotherapy physicist in the Maastricht Radiation Oncology Department, said: “Artistes imaging flexibility and simplified workflow help us to confidently treat proliferated tumours in a wide range of areas of the body.”

He added that the advanced capabilities of the solution enable the full integration of Maastro-developed dose-guided radiation therapy methods and image-guided radiation therapy at the centre.

In April 2008, Siemens announced the launch of a new breast screening system to enhance and speed up the mammography process.