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Added on Feb 28, 2007 | Filed Under:

New Trilogy TM System optimized for both conventional and stereotactic approaches to treating cancer and other conditions

NEW ORLEANS, LA Ochsner Medical Center today announced it has installed the new Trilogy System from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), for treating cancer and neurological lesions with image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS). The Trilogy system is the most powerful, precise, and versatile treatment solution ever provided by one product. In addition to delivering conventional forms of radiation therapy, the Trilogy system can be used for stereotactic approaches for treating very small lesions quickly and with unprecedented precision. It can also compensate for any movements a patient might make during treatment, as well as normal respiratory motion. "This state-of-the-art system will enable us to treat patients with the most advanced radiotherapy techniques, using the most clinically efficient processes in the world," said Dr. Troy Scroggins, MD, Department Chairman, Radiation Oncology at Ochsner. "It provides us with tremendous versatility and precision for customizing treatments according to the specifics of each patient's case." At the core of the Trilogy system is Varian's high-powered medical linear accelerator, a machine that rotates around the patient to deliver radiotherapy treatments from many angles. The system is able to concentrate radiation doses on the tumor while protecting surrounding healthy tissue. The Trilogy linear accelerator was designed to deliver high doses of radiation very quickly, and with great precision. That translates into faster treatments, greater patient comfort, and the potential for better outcomes. The system incorporates a multileaf collimator for shaping the radiation beam to match the three-dimensional shape of the tumor, and a robotic On-Board Imager TM device for fast, accurate, real-time tumor tracking and automated patient positioning. The Trilogy system also includes technologies that help doctors deal with tumor motion during treatment. A set of optical guidance cameras monitor and correct for any patient movement, while an infrared monitoring device turns the radiation beam on and off at a predetermined point in a patient's breathing cycle to compensate for respiratory motion. "These important tracking and targeting technologies will enable us to treat lesions that might not have been treatable in the past," said Dr. Scroggins. "We'll be able to protect healthy tissues to an unprecedented degree." Stereotactic Approaches to Treatment The Trilogy linear accelerator is optimized for stereotactic applications that involve delivering higher doses of radiation to smaller areas over short periods of time. This means that, in addition to cancer, doctors can use the system to treat benign and malignant brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, trigeminal neuralgia, and other neurological conditions. "Stereotactic approaches are generally most appropriate for small lesions and early metastases," said Dr. Scroggins. "Better diagnostic tools are making it possible for us to see tumors much earlier, when they're still very small, so stereotactic radiotherapies are likely to play a much larger role in the future of cancer care." "Radiation therapy is used today in more than half of all cancer treatments due to its unique clinical advantages," says Dr. Scroggins. "Using the Trilogy system, we have the potential to substantially improve treatment outcomes by doing a better job of protecting healthy tissue while delivering more powerful doses to tumors and other abnormalities." Ochsner plans to start treating patients with this advanced cancer treatment in March.

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