Radiation therapy becomes more and more tailored to each patient with highly conformal dose delivery to the tumor and reduced exposure of normal tissue. More precise treatment plans require a higher level of follow-up throughout the course of treatment to ensure that the planned dose stays on track, as well as possibilities to adapt the plan if deviations are found. RaySearch has conducted research within adaptive replanning for two decades and when entering the field of treatment planning with RayStation, the system was designed from start with dose tracking and adaptive replanning in mind. RayStation 2023B takes the next steps and improves the workflows for dose tracking and replanning further.
RayStation 2023B also comes with two innovative features within particle therapy: support for discrete proton arcs and robust optimization based on linear energy transfer (LET). LET optimization can be used in proton and ion therapy to lower LET in risk organs, which could reduce potential side effects of radiotherapy. Additionally, for treatments with heavy ions, such as carbon ions, particles with high LET can be focused inside the tumor, increasing the probability of tumor control.
Discrete proton arc optimization provides tools to create plans with many more beam angles, which results in more conformal dose distributions and less dose to risk organs than conventional proton plans. RayStation supports a one-click conversion into regular pencil-beam scanning plans to be delivered by any existing pencil-beam scanning proton treatment machine. With this development, RayStation brings proton arc advances to existing proton facilities.
Other highlights of RayStation 2023B include support for automatic field-in-field planning for photons, a method that generates homogeneous and conformal dose distributions by combining a few subfields, as well as point-based optimization of brachy plans, and faster loading of data.
RayStation in combination with RayCare adds support for automated task management for all the steps in the planning workflow and ensures the user always has the right information at the right place. With the combination of RayStation 2023B and RayCare 2023B all necessary treatment plan information is available in RayCare when selecting which plan to deliver at a certain fraction.
Johan Löf, founder and CEO, RaySearch, says: “With RayStation 2023B we show our strong dedication in providing world-class solutions for treatment planning. Adaptive replanning and high-level of integration of different systems at the clinic will pave the way towards personalized treatments and improved patient care.”