May 21 2001  


 

Nucletron BV, Veenendaal.  The Netherlands, an international leader in radiotherapy announces that it has received FDA clearance to begin marketing its new release of stereotactic planning software and multi-modality image fusion software for radiation therapy planning.


Stereotactic Radiosurgery is widely used for the treatment of small brain lesions where radiation therapy offers advantages over other treatment methods. The enhanced Nucletron radiosurgery planning software (SRS) provides comprehensive and easy to use treatment planning for this complex and precise treatment method. The new version adds new features such as automatic optimisation that reduce the time needed to achieve the desired radiation dose distribution. Nucletron’s SRS system is headframe independent, and can be used with all major models and headframes currently available.


The new image fusion software offers significant advantages in its capabilities to correlate images from different imaging modalities with a choice of correlation methods. These include the use of user-defined reference points, a stereotactic frame, or manual adjustments of over-laid images. This flexibility makes the technique applicable for planning a wide range of radiation therapy treatments.


Image fusion is an important technique to allow radiation oncologists to accurately determine which are the cancerous tissues to be targeted by radiation therapy. Often the best images for determining the volume to be treated are not usable for radiation dose calculations. These are best done with computed tomography. Image fusion allows image sets to be correlated and the target volume transferred to the CT images. The new Nucletron module, PLATO IFS, can be used for both stereotactic radiosurgery planning as well as other radiation therapy methods. PLATO IFS will be of particular importance for hospitals using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), where precise definition of the treatment volume is a key factor in the treatment results.


Interest in image fusion continues to increase for both External Beam and Brachytherapy, where different imaging modalities may be used during different planning stages.


Both IFS and SRS are important components in the PLATOcomplete treatment planning suite. With the upgrade of stereotactic planning and the addition of image fusion, PLATO provides powerful planning tools for an exceptionally wide range of treatment techniques.


"Our focus on specialised applications and the performance of the planning features is transforming PLATO into one of the most comprehensive and exciting products available", said Rudolf Scholte, Managing Director of Nucletron. " Nucletron has long been known for its innovative advances in radiation therapy and the addition of image fusion to PLATO demonstrates that we are continuing to develop new products and applications in this spirit."



About Nucletron
Nucletron BV, Veenendaal, The Netherlands, is a worldwide leader in radiotherapy systems and thoracic imaging equipment for radiology and mass chest screening and specializes in some of the most innovative products used for cancer treatment. The company has 11 offices worldwide, including its corporate headquarter in the Netherlands. Nucletron has been a worldwide leader in remote afterloading brachytherapy for 25 years. Nucletron BV is a subsidiary of Delft Instruments, an international group of companies about 1000 employees and annual sales of some EUR 180 million.