Elekta (Stockholm:EKTA-B) says an FDA 510(k) clearance represents a new era in precision radiation therapy to treat cancer in the U.S.
The Sweden-based cancer and brain treatment tech company announced that the FDA has cleared Comprehensive Motion Management (CMM) with True Tracking and automatic gating. The features are part of Elekta’s Unity MR-Linac radiotherapy system.
The new features enable Elekta Unity to continuously calculate the movement of the tumor anywhere in the body and account for it automatically.
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It’s possible with CMM to better manage the treatment of targets that are either subject to periodic breathing motion or random movements, according to Elekta. For example, patients don’t need to hold their breath during treatment, which can be challenging. Integrated predictive algorithms compensate for any system delays, further enhancing breathing motion management.
In addition, clinicians through CMM can rapidly shift the beam to account for systematic changes in target position that might occur during the treatment session. They’re able to do this without re-imaging, which helps to save time.
“Improving the accuracy of beam delivery is the key to increasing the therapeutic window in radiotherapy,” Dr. Lorraine Portelance, vice chair of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami, said in an Elekta news release. “But of course, to truly improve accuracy, we have to both track the motion and be able to quickly respond to it. These new motion management features do that and was a big reason we have decided to invest in this system.”
Carlos Castilleja, Elekta’s EVP of Region Americas, said CMM “really moves the needle in cancer care.”
Said Castilleja: “We believe MR-guided therapy is going to play a major role in radiotherapy moving forward. This is evidenced by a large hospital network in New Jersey that is in the process of setting up three Elekta Unity systems, in addition to the more than 100 systems ordered or in use in the U.S. and around the world”
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