Roseville ROC commences cancer treatment with Elekta VMAT

The first treatments with Elekta Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) began November 17, 2009 at Roseville Radiation Oncology Center (ROC) at Radiological Associates of Sacramento (RAS). RAS, a large private medical group, includes diagnostics as well as therapy in its centers. ROC treats 30-35 patients per day, mainly with prostate and breast lesions.

With Elekta VMAT, single or multiple radiation beams sweep in uninterrupted arc(s) around the patient, reducing treatment times. In the design of Elekta VMAT, Elekta has integrated the latest version of its digital control system, which facilitates clinical use of VMAT while emphasizing optimal patient safety.

David R. Asche, MS, director of physics and engineering at RAS, has one word for the first VMAT treatment: "Flawless." Asche continues, "Treatment was delivered perfectly with Elekta Infinity. I can tell you the therapists were absolutely thrilled and immediately had numerous recommendations of patients they thought would benefit from VMAT, and that was based primarily on the time efficiency of delivery."

The first case was a patient with prostate cancer who had begun as an IMRT patient. "It was a challenge for him to stay comfortable on the table, and we felt that he could benefit from a shorter treatment time," explains Asche. "We were able to reduce his treatment time from five minutes 30 seconds to about 90 seconds."

ROC is using MOSAIQ®, the industry's leading radiation oncology charting system, to streamline VMAT workflow through each step of the treatment process. This further adds to an efficient, effective treatment for each patient at ROC.

RAS is counting on using this efficiency not only at the Roseville site, but also on its second Elekta Infinity, soon to be implemented at the RAS Sutter Cancer Center site.

"That's going to be a very busy machine," says Asche. "The efficiency that we expect to achieve will greatly help in scheduling throughout the day. It will enable us to treat the volume of patients that we need to treat, without taxing our patients, staff and physicians."

Elekta continues its flexible, open-source vendor relationships, this time collaborating with Philips Healthcare through its Pinnacle3 Treatment Planning System. SmartArc, available as a module in Philips' Pinnacle3 Version 9, integrated beautifully with Elekta Infinity to facilitate VMAT plans, Asche says. "The plans transferred and delivered very well."

Kathy Wall, director of global marketing, radiation oncology at Philips Healthcare, says, "Pinnacle3 is designed to work with all manufacturers' linacs; it's all about flexibility and efficient workflow. Users get the full benefit of Pinnacle3, whatever equipment they choose."

"We're excited to work with Elekta on this project," she adds. "Our open, flexible systems have integrated very nicely for the benefit of patients at ROC."

"Our partnership with Elekta has been a good one," Asche says. "The response that we have seen from the team at all levels has been outstanding. We're very excited about the VMAT modality and expanding it throughout our practice. We hope to apply it in new areas where we think it will best benefit the patients. I'm very proud of our team's collaboration with Elekta to bring our patients the very best care, and I think our patients are very fortunate."