Siemens introduces Anzai to the Northern Centre for Cancer Care

Radiotherapy department to benefit from respiratory gating solution for effective tumour visualisation and targeted treatment

Published: 10/06

TYNE, UK - (HealthTech Wire / News) - The Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC), located at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, has recently installed a SOMATOM Sensation Open 40-slice CT simulator from Siemens Healthcare. The new system, which will go clinical later this year, allows the easy positioning of radiation therapy patients and provides detailed visualisation of anatomy for accurate treatment planning. The installation is part of an overall transformation of The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to bring hospital services together and improve quality of care.

The SOMATOM Sensation Open features Siemens integrated respiratory gating solution, Anzai. Anzai offers full organ and tumour motion visualisation in the form of a simple to use pressure transducer and recorder. NCCC will use Anzai to image tumour movement caused by respiratory motion to enhance the precision of treatment plans. Respiratory data is synchronised with the spiral CT acquisition data so that the user can freely select the point at which images are retrospectively reconstructed. A complete set of 4D data is then available on the acquisition workstation and can be sent to the departments chosen planning system. Training on this application has commenced.

Anzai can also be used to enhance the functionality of linear accelerators and offer gated therapy for radiation delivery. Treatment staff can use the solution to trigger the linear accelerator at the optimum point within the respiratory phase. This method ensures that radiation treatment is synchronised to the patients individual breathing pattern to provide a more targeted approach to radiation therapy.

Working as an integral part of the CT and radiation therapy process, a respiratory gating solution will ensure that data is gathered at the optimum phase in the breathing cycle to ensure the best results, said Andy Jeffery, Radiotherapy Sales Manager at Siemens Healthcare. Anzai not only facilitates efficient workflow in the radiotherapy department, but also allows a personalised and highly targeted approach to imaging and treatment in oncology. We look forward to working with staff at the centre in preparation for patient go-live later this year.