GE Healthcare will work with RaySearch Laboratories to develop a new radiation therapy simulation and treatment planning workflow solution that simplifies how radiation is targeted to shrink tumors.

The two will combine RaySearch’s advanced treatment planning systems with GE’s multimodality simulator systems for CT, MR and molecular imaging to speed up and make cancer treatment more precise.

The intent is to make the simulation process for oncologists easier by creating an interoperable and integrated workflow that eliminates the trouble they often face in navigating multiple systems and workflows manually. This, in turn, will allow users to make decisions in the simulation room.

"Precision imaging is foundational to determining characteristics of tumors and differentiating between healthy tissues when cancer patients undergo radiation therapy. A key issue for oncologists can be the simulation process and the need to navigate multiple systems and workflows manually, which can take several hours. The aim of the collaboration is to simplify this process by enabling point-of-care decision making in the simulation room," Ben Newton, GE Healthcare head of oncology solutions, told HCB News.

RaySearch’s software is used by over 800 clinics in more than 40 countries and supports multivendor treatment delivery machines. This enables it to integrate and interoperate simulated images seamlessly.

Two of its platforms are RayStation, a treatment planning system, and RayCare, an oncology information system. RayStation plans out care for various treatment modalities via one control center. It offers adaptive therapy capabilities, multi-criteria optimization and algorithms for treatment planning optimization in HDR brachytherapy and external beam therapy with photons, electrons, protons, helium and carbon ions.

RaySearch just installed it at Proton International Arkansas for the Radiation Oncology Center. The organization plans to use it for IMPT (intensity modulated proton therapy) and photon and electron IMRT / VMAT (intensity modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy) at 30 centers in the U.S.

It also is connected to RayCare, which coordinates logistics in oncology care centers. It has advanced features for clinical workflow automation and adaptive radiation therapy. La Clinique Générale-Beaulieu, a part of Swiss Medical Network in Switzerland, recently became the first center in the world to treat a patient using the Accuray CyberKnife radiation treatment delivery system with RayStation and RayCare. The first treatment was successfully carried out on May 4, 2022.

Both RaySearch and GE expect that an interoperable and integrated workflow will help optimize clinical planning and create smoother operations in hospitals and cancer treatment centers. They also are working to automate radiation oncology processes, which providers are demanding more of due to higher volumes of patients and advancements in radiation treatment delivery procedures.

More than 60% of patients undergo radiation therapy annually, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This requires high quality imaging where targeting is precise and spares healthy tissue. Precision imaging is also necessary for determining the size, shape and characteristics of tumors, says Johan Löf, founder and CEO of RaySearch Laboratories, in a statement. “Software has tremendous potential, and it is now the driving force for innovation in oncology. We are very pleased to be working with a partner of the scale of GE Healthcare, one of the largest providers of precision healthcare, to bring scientific advancements to the clinical world.”