Velocity 4.0, the latest version of Varian’s cancer imaging software, is now available for purchase and equipped to provide Y90 Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) dosimetry analysis.

Using RapidSphere, its integrated image-guided dosimetry system, the solution provides better understanding of tumor responses and individualized toxicity of normal tissues for patients undergoing SIRT procedures. These functions are especially desirable to interventional radiologists treating liver malignancies through targeted cancer therapy.

“We can take the image from the post-therapy emission tomography scan, which shows the distribution of activity in normal liver and tumor volumes, and compute the absorbed dose delivered to these anatomical structures,” Tim Fox, senior director of Imaging Informatics at Varian, told HCB News. “Thus, we are able to convert the injected activity to delivered dose, to better understand the dose-volume relationships associated with response and toxicity.”
The efficiency of a Y90 SIRT procedure lies in its radioactive microsphere particle, Y90, which as a beta source, provides a limited range in tissue for dose, thereby minimizing the amount of normal liver dose.

The software is also equipped with Velocity M3i, enabling multi-modality motion imaging with simultaneous displays and contouring of up to ten imaging studies with deformable image registration. Studies can be derived from CT, MR, PET, SPECT, ultrasound, 4DCT or CBCT.

In addition, users can automatically synchronize approved objects and one-click save Velocity data on ARIA and Eclipse systems with the ARIA Sync function; as well as use Velocity Tumor and Dose Tracking to trace image-based tumors and radiotherapy across multiple treatments and therapy modalities to verify volumetric tumor change and cumulative dose history in patients.

Fox says the integration of Y90 SIRT reflects a shifting trend from surgical to minimally-invasive procedures as part of the transition toward value-based healthcare, one that extends to minimally-invasive image-guided cancer modalities.

“Interventional radiologists have described difficulty in assessing the best modality for ‘in-between’ patients with too much disease for ablation, but not enough for Y90 SIRT,” said Fox. “Using pretreatment multi-modality medical imaging, RapidSphere can bring different modalities together for assessing the extent of disease. After the Y90 SIRT procedure, RapidSphere can assess the delivered dose using emission tomography imaging which shows the distribution of the Y90 microsphere particles after injection. As follow-up images are acquired, these images can be associated with the delivered dose to determine the response to therapy.”

Velocity 4.0 and the Rapidsphere module are FDA cleared.

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