by
Barbara Kram, Editor | October 21, 2009
Another question that Penn will try to address is, "How do protons fit into the multidisciplinary care of cancer to augment other therapies and make them work better?" Dr. Metz posed.
"How do we utilize this scarce resource?" he asked, articulating a key clinical and ethical question that underpins proton therapy.
Ad Statistics
Times Displayed: 109208
Times Visited: 6638 MIT labs, experts in Multi-Vendor component level repair of: MRI Coils, RF amplifiers, Gradient Amplifiers Contrast Media Injectors. System repairs, sub-assembly repairs, component level repairs, refurbish/calibrate. info@mitlabsusa.com/+1 (305) 470-8013
"Proton therapy is still in its infancy and we are still optimizing how to deliver this radiation," Dr. Metz said. He noted that CT, MR and PET imaging are all used to visualize tumors and give a more conformal dose of radiation. Penn Medicine will be unique compared to the nation's six operational proton centers in the way proton therapy will be fully integrated into its radiation oncology facility.
Partnering with UPenn
on the project are
Varian and IBA
"UPenn has created a unique way to serve its patients by integrating the precision and benefits of proton therapy into its existing radiation oncology practice as they perform research and expand the promises of the proton beam," noted Leonard Arzt, Executive Director of the National Association for Proton Therapy, who attended the seminar.
Uncommon Disease, Uncommon Treatment
"Cancer is not a common disease, but a collection of rare diseases," observed Vikram Bhadrasain, M.D. Chief, Clinical Radiation Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute who discussed improving outcomes in radiation oncology.
"While radiation therapy is still associated with adverse effects in too many patients, especially in advanced cancers, technological advances as well as pharmacological mitigators are needed," Dr. Bhadrasain indicated. He also described the important role electronic records will play, including the electronic radiation oncology record to capture data and support clinical decision-making and comparative effectiveness research.
How It Works
Richard Maughan, Ph.D., Director of Medical Physics, Penn Medicine, explained the advanced technology: The cyclotron particle accelerator moves protons to a velocity of 60% of the speed of light. Protons obtain the energy to penetrate 32 cm. into the human body.
Proton therapy also uses a magnet system in which RF voltage is applied.
