Santa Maria Radiation Oncology Center Treats First Cancer Patient with Elekta Synergy®

Santa Maria Radiation Oncology Center has treated the first cancer patients with its new Elekta Synergy®, a radiation treatment system with an integrated 3D imaging system that allows physicians to more precisely target tumors with radiation beams. Elekta Synergy provides unmatched clinical confidence to more aggressively treat tumors, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Santa Maria, CA (PRWEB) June 11, 2009 -- Santa Maria Radiation Oncology Center has treated the first patients with its new Elekta Synergy®, a radiation treatment system with an integrated 3D imaging system that allows physicians to more precisely target tumors with radiation beams.

Board-certified radiation oncologists Dr. Sheri Marquez and Dr. Case Ketting lead the team of medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, nurses, and office staff at Santa Maria, delivering compassionate, state-of-the-art radiation therapy for cancer patients. They provide a full range of advanced cancer treatment options, including Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and brachytherapy, now complemented by the addition of the Elekta Synergy.®

Elekta Synergy, manufactured by Elekta, is an advanced digital linear accelerator that integrates a suite of imaging tools to enable high quality, 3D imaging at the time of treatment. This capability provides clinicians with a solution to two of the most persistent and significant problems in radiation therapy: internal organ motion and errors in patient set-up. Elekta Synergy provides unmatched clinical confidence to more aggressively treat tumors, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

"The history of radiation therapy has been dominated by increasing accuracy and precision in delivering the radiation to where it was needed, while sparing normal tissues. Using the Synergy machine, we are seeing remarkable, repeatable improvements in targeting accuracy that continue that trend. It is truly amazing to have an instrument that can measure down to one or two millimeters of inaccuracy in targeting the cancer, and then correct for that error," said Dr. Ketting.

A new approach to radiation therapy:
To determine the precise location of tumors and normal surrounding tissues, traditional radiotherapy calls for imaging studies to be done several days before treatment. With Elekta Synergy at Santa Maria Radiation Oncology Center, imaging can be quickly and easily integrated into the daily workflow.

In addition to improving accuracy, Elekta Synergy reduces or eliminates the need for implanting markers, as clinicians can visualize soft tissue detail using Elekta Synergy VolumeView™. This low-dose imaging capability helps minimize the side effects of radiation therapy by reducing the margins previously set to account for uncertainties of target dimensions, location and movement. In addition, clinicians have the confidence that a 3D plan will be delivered as an accurately targeted 3D treatment.

"Until the introduction of Elekta Synergy, clinicians had to rely on assumptions about target location based on historical data that could be a week or more old at the time of treatment," explained Jim Rose, SVP of Elekta Oncology, North America. "Elekta Synergy has changed that, allowing the clinician to image at the time of treatment, leading to the potential for improved treatments and quality of life for the patient."

Dr. Sheri Marquez explained, "The Synergy allows us to optimize our accuracy and precision in radiation therapy. Due to natural organ motion (e.g. breathing, digestion, bladder filling and emptying), the tumor position can change from day to day. With our new technology, we can better track the tumor and simultaneously better protect normal tissues.

In some situations, such as in lung cancer or head and neck cancer, as the tumor responds to therapy, it can retract or move quite a bit from its original location. With our new technology, we can quickly redesign the entire treatment if necessary to accommodate the new tumor location and/or the new relationship of the tumor to critical normal structures. Ultimately, this application translates into accurate treatment and less side effects for our patients," Dr. Marquez explained.

About Coastal Radiation Oncology Medical Group:
Santa Maria Radiation Oncology Center is a member of the Coastal Radiation Oncology Medical Group Network. For over 35 years, Coastal Radiation Oncology Medical Group has provided expert, compassionate cancer care in communities throughout the central coast of California. For more information, please visit www.coastalradiationoncology.com.

About Elekta:
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated state of the art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

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