The first order of ScandiDos AB’s Delta4 Discover systems in the U.S. will soon be up and running at the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas.

The facility plans to integrate the real-time 4-D in-vivo dosimetry solution and the Delta4Phantom+ system with its Varian TrueBeam accelerators for independent and automated verification of planned radiation dose during ongoing treatments.

“What we are looking for is more of a fine-tuning of the therapy that will impact more patients and due to that, induce the cure and reduction of negative side effects,” Görgen Nilsson, chief executive officer of ScandiDos AB, told HCB News.

The system offers capabilities not accessible before to staff at the center, including daily dose variation through measurement, and provides new sets of data such as machine dose fluctuation and daily patient anatomy variance, enabling physicians to study radiobiological effects of daily dose variances on tumors, enhancing both research and assurance.

The design includes a special semiconductor, unique to the market for verifying dose correctly, and a multileaf collimator to create dose topography. It is equipped with a configured detector arrangement for verifying the accuracy of each collimator leaf.

A transmission detector is also present, designed with a low profile for reducing clearance between the patient and device. It is this feature that enables compatibility with Varian’s anti-collision system, preventing collisions between the treatment machine and patient.

The detector is thin, so as not to attenuate the beam too much, and to prevent exposure of the skin to additional dosage from interactions with radiation.

The system is embedded with firmware to run the microprocessor, as well as very advanced application software that works with the therapy system to enable ease of use, smooth workflow and safety.

Additional features include independence of Delta4 Discover from the treatment machine through the addition of gyros and inclinometers, which verify all rotations of the gantry and collimator for independent checking of beam projection; a laser to verify correct patient alignment on couches; and a special semi-conductor detector with high spatial resolution.

“The aim of Delta4 Discover is to verify the treatment at very high accuracy,” Nilsson said. “The data can either be use passively or actively in adaptive treatment (the treatment is then corrected to compensate for small deviations from one treatment fraction to the next) and to perform this task with minimum workload and disturbance of the workflow. Additionally, the Delta4 Discover concept can reduce the traditional PT-verification work and thereby save time and money for the user.”

The first order of the system in the U.S. coincides with its two-year anniversary of FDA clearance, which took place in February 2016. It was also recently validated for clinical use by Varian this past November.

ScandiDos expects additional orders soon throughout North America.