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DVS user presents question to panel, "Why not recommend an implantable dosimeter as the surest way of knowing the dose at the point of the tumor and assuring patient safety?" Dr.Peter Mondalek advocates for in vivo dosimetry to ensure patient safety during radiation therapy.

Sicel Technologies, Inc., maker of the Dose Verification System (DVS), the world’s first and only wireless implantable dosimeter cleared for breast and prostate cancer treatment, today announced that it was joined by three independent healthcare professionals who use the technology in attending the American Society for ;Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) “Safety in Radiation Therapy” meeting, held June 24 to 25 in Miami.

Many at the ASTRO meeting, which followed the recent FDA conference on radiation therapy, offered suggestions for improvements that minimized distractions in the clinic and utilized ‘more timeout’ techniques for insuring compliance with a checklist to insure proper execution of procedures. Almost all speakers concurred there are no standards in the industry for reporting of near misses and incidents.

Peter Mondalek, PhD, Medical Physicist, Atlanta Oncology, challenged one of the panels with the question “Why not recommend an implantable dosimeter as the surest way of knowing the dose at the point of the tumor and assuring patient safety? With almost all of the meeting speakers suggesting that there are no industry standards for reporting of near misses and incidents, it is apparent that DVS remains the best way to correctly measure the actual dose provided to the tumor.”

Attending the meeting were many of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Among them were DVS users from Thomas Jefferson Medical Center, Philadelphia, and Lynn Regional Cancer Center, Boca Raton Fla.

“We are encouraged by comments at the recent meeting hosted by the AAPM and ASTRO, following the recent FDA meeting, will lead to significant changes in monitoring radiation therapy and reporting,” said Dr. Chuck Scarantino, Medical Director and co-founder of Sicel Technologies. “We firmly believe that DVS technology is the missing link relative to current treatment practices and safeguards meant to help protect patients during radiation therapy. The only way to know the dose is to measure the dose. DVS makes that information available at the tumor location.”