Online 1 - Page 1

By Jeroen Cammeraat, COO, Nucletron

In radiation therapy, it is standard practice for delivery-system vendors to provide their own brands of treatment planning software. The theory is that the software and hardware capabilities should be ideally matched. In practice, however, this “packaged solution” approach has created limitations that are growing more problematic for clinicians as technology advances and treatment options increase.

We hear concerns about increasingly complex user interfaces that are difficult to navigate. Vendor development schedules dictate and sometimes delay the treatment options that physicians can offer to patients. The linking of treatment planning to the delivery platform also creates silos. These planning silos make it difficult for physicians to compare alternative plans or to create customized plans that combine treatment modalities.

A new vision for open treatment planning

Nucletron is a well-known vendor of brachytherapy afterloaders, but we have a different vision for treatment planning. We think customers should have more flexibility. We believe physicians should have the freedom to choose their patient-planning environment irrespective of the treatment delivery vendor. I am pleased to introduce you—or reintroduce you—to Oncentra®, an independent treatment planning system that gives you the freedom of choice.

The Oncentra Dynamic Planning Environment is an open system that is and will remain compliant with DICOM standards. In fact, Nucletron is fully committed to supporting and advancing the development of DICOM and IHE-RO standards. Our adherence to open standards means that treatments planned in Oncentra can be used in any treatment delivery environment. As a result, radiation oncology departments don’t have to cast their lot with one linac vendor; they can make choices based on their own goals.

Oncentra is also a multimodality planning system that supports image-guided photon, electron, proton, and brachytherapy. Both brachytherapy and external beam treatments can be planned in the Oncentra Environment using many of the same tools, and we’ve recently added the capability to plan volumetric arc therapy treatments. Physicians have told us that they want to be able to compare arc therapy plans to standard IMRT plans so they can choose the best option for the patient. With our new arc therapy planning module, Oncentra VMAT, they can do just that.

User choice + rapid innovation

We think that a universal planning environment for all modes of radiation therapy will enhance the quality of treatment plans. It will also improve productivity, especially if users love the interface. We are working diligently on providing an efficient, modern interface that provides the best user experience.

Another strength of Oncentra is its modular architecture, which enables fast implementation and adoption of new innovations. We believe that time-to-market with new and improved capabilities is more important than who invents the idea. We welcome commercial and clinical collaborations that support the goal of better patient care. Our work with RaySearch Laboratories, for example, helped us to rapidly deliver Oncentra VMAT.

I’ve touched on the principles that underpin the Oncentra Environment: user choice and rapid innovation. Where are we headed? We are creating a dynamic environment for managing offline, online, and real-time planning. Ultimately our goal is to provide guided, patient-centric decision-making and evaluation tools that personalize care based on your choice of modality and the latest, most effective treatment techniques.

I hope you will give Oncentra software a close look, because customers are telling us that the time has come for an independent planning environment. We are listening.