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John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | December 19, 2017
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
has chosen to install Varian's Eclipse
treatment planning system at all
five of its sites in Australia
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) in Melbourne is set to install Varian’s Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) at all five of its sites throughout Australia.
The choice of Eclipse marks the first installation of a Microsoft Azure-hosted system in the land down under, and will replace the three different systems currently used at Peter Mac sites with a sole solution.
“With the single platform, they can now standardize and streamline their workflow and processes, a feat not previously possible with multiple platforms,” Chris Cowley, the managing director for Varian in Australia, told HCB News.
With eclipse software, users can create an optimized radiotherapy treatment plan based on physician dose instructions and information about the size, shape and location of a tumor. The system is equipped with many features, including RapidPlan knowledge-based planning for simplifying and accelerating planning processes of sophisticated cancer treatments, such as stereotactic radiosurgery or intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
It also consists of multi-criteria optimization (MCO) to enable clinicians to examine what happens when different clinical criteria are varied, such as the degree to which organs are spared versus coverage of targeted tumors.
Varian’s Velocity System will also be installed, acting as a centralized repository for storing all diagnostic, planning and delivery information.
Cowley says the Microsoft Azure-hosted system will provide access to upgrades, scalability and sustainability, and that the use of one system will enhance treatment planning and subsequent delivery, as well as staff satisfaction and time saved.
“The consolidation of Peter Mac’s TPS into a unified platform will improve efficiency, improve consistency among planners located in different sites, and improve quality of treatment planning, which will ultimately benefit patients,” he said.
Peter Mac is involved in a number of research projects dedicated to treatment planning in cancer. One recent example involves
testing of a radiotracer for imaging prostate cancer that can be developed in a matter of minutes.
The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2017.
