PAVIA, Italy /PRNewswire/ - The need for flawless coordination of its carbon ion treatments led officials at the CNAO Foundation (Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica) to choose Elekta's MOSAIQ® Oncology Information Management System. On November 13, the CNAO Foundation became the world's first center to use MOSAIQ to guide a cancer patient's carbon ion therapy. CNAO - which made news last year when it treated its first patient with proton therapy - is now nearing completion of its National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy.

Dr. Sandro Rossi, General Manager and Technical Director of the CNAO Foundation, says that after an initial start up phase the Center will be
running double shifts, treating 150 to 200 patients a month with both proton therapy and carbon ion therapy.


Using MOSAIQ, which incorporates its record & verify module for particle therapy accelerator technology, CNAO will store and retrieve data related to particle therapy treatment and follow-up care for patients, as well as the Center's cancer care and treatment research. "In our daily routine, MOSAIQ has helped us schedule procedures and facilitate more efficient workflow for our clinical and scientific research activities," Dr. Rossi explains.

A specific advantage of carbon ion treatments is the possibility to prescribe and report physical and biological doses differently than other therapies, and the necessity to schedule pre-positioning procedures to optimize patient throughput. Elekta has demonstrated its commitment to work with CNAO to extend MOSAIQ capabilities to operate within this environment. Combined with the flexibility that MOSAIQ demonstrates, this was a strong selling point for CNAO, according to Dr. Rossi.

"A very compelling MOSAIQ feature is the possibility to integrate, expand and fine tune the solution to include the different procedures that will be developed during the working life of a facility like CNAO," he says.
"The use of MOSAIQ also will lead to a high level of optimization of staffing activities."

"Embracing the ability to extend our particle therapy offering to incorporate carbon ions was a first for Elekta and one that we are excited to be undertaking with CNAO," says Todd Powell, Executive Vice President, Elekta Software. "Our success in this area will further advance our solution and reinforce our market leadership as a provider of patient management solutions within particle therapy."

About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.
Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,400 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb.

Website: www.elekta.com.

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