Accuray Incorporated recently announced that its Monte Carlo Dose Calculation algorithm has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA and is now commercially available worldwide. This announcement was made as part of the product's launch at the 9th Biennial European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) meeting on Physics and Radiation Technology for Clinical Radiotherapy in Barcelona, Spain.
Treatment with radiation therapy or radiosurgery requires a linear accelerator to deliver one or more x-ray beams to a target. Each beam is made up of trillions of photons, and each photon follows an individual path to the target. Traditional dose calculation methods assume all photons take a single path and therefore use a single calculation to represent the dose delivered by all photons.
According to the company, Monte Carlo methods are considered the gold standard of probabilistic statistics. The Monte Carlo dose calculation method takes the probability and potential interactions for each individual photon into account when it calculates the dose being delivered by a single photon. It then considers the probabilities for each of millions of photons to generate a dose calculation for the target and surrounding structures.
Previously, because of the repetition of algorithms and the large number of calculations involved, Monte Carlo dose calculations were time consuming to compute and therefore were difficult to employ in clinical settings. Now, by integrating various speed-up techniques, Accuray has developed a Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm that can more quickly and precisely predict the dose of radiation that will be delivered to tumours.
The Monte Carlo dose calculation methodology is ideal for use in treating lung tumours, which are solid masses surrounded by air cavities, because it takes into account varying tissue densities. By integrating the Monte Carlo Dose Calculation algorithm with the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, Accuray offers clinicians one of the most advanced tools available today for treating lung cancer.
"Current dose calculation algorithms work well for treating most tumours because the surrounding tissue is relatively uniform, but assumptions had to be made within areas like the lungs and sinuses where tissue densities differ," said Dr Charlie Ma, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, who helped develop this customised version of Monte Carlo dose calculation for the CyberKnife System.
The Monte Carlo Dose Calculation capability will be available for purchase as a software upgrade for customers with the Multiplan 2.0 Treatment Planning System and is scheduled to begin shipping toward the end of this calendar year.
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