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Sicel Technologies, Inc., responds to the ASTRO request for member companies to provide perspectives for improving patient safety and the efficacy of radiation therapy.

Sicel Technologies, Inc., developer of the Dose Verification System ( DVS ), the only wireless, implantable sensor cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to determine the actual dose of radiation being delivered to the tumor, reported its response to the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology ( ASTRO ) request for member companies to provide perspectives for improving patient safety and the efficacy of radiation therapy. These responses will be discussed during ASTRO’s satellite meeting held June 24-25, 2010 in Miami, FL.

ASTRO, the largest radiation oncology organization and the leading resource for its members, has developed a Six Point Patient Protection Plan, which emphasizes the importance of proper training certification and improved adverse event reporting in maximizing patient safety.

As illustrated in the recent investigative articles reported in The New York Times, at the heart of this challenge lies a basic question: Is it possible to apply technical and operational improvements today that will improve the safe delivery of the prescribed dose of radiation to the tumor tissue in the treatment of cancer? We, at Sicel Technologies, Inc., believe that answer is a resounding “yes” and we have the technology to prove it.

Harnessing “The Radiation Boom”

You simply cannot improve what you don’t measure. Measure the dose, and you will improve the care.

DVS is indicated for the treatment of breast and prostate cancer, a disease state that accounts for 52 percent of all new cancer patients in the U.S. annually. This minimally invasive device is the only pre-calibrated implantable in vivo dosimeter that measures the actual radiation dose to the tumor and surrounding healthy tissue.

“Currently, only one product can verify the daily treatment of patients. DVS is an insurance policy that allows physicians to verify the daily set up and treatments administered by the radiation therapist,” says Peter Mondalek, Ph.D, Director of Physics, Atlanta Oncology, Atlanta, Georgia. “Most accidents occur due to computerized errors when all planning and treatment systems are not integrated properly. The only way to ever be 100 percent positive that proper treatment has occurred is to obtain an internal reading of the dose received.”

While DVS cannot determine the cause behind an error in dose delivery, DVS will inform the physician of a potential problem, which allows the doctor to further investigate the issue and adjust plans accordingly.

As noted by Dr. James Wheeler, Radiation Oncologist and DVS user at Goshen Health, Goshen, Indiana. “The type of errors in the Times article often related to mechanical factors … that could have been detected in the patients if they had DVS technology.”

As the potential side effects of radiation therapy continue to gain national exposure in the mainstream media, patients and caregivers will seek out technologies that enhance treatment and deliver peace of mind.

“Due to the public’s increased awareness of the need for radiation safety, I spend more of my new patient consultation time discussing the many aspects of the robust Quality Assurance program we have at HUMC,” said Glen Gejerman, MD, Director of Radiation Oncology, Hackensack University Medical Center. “Our multiple, redundant safety checks, such as DVS, demonstrates our commitment to patient safety. Patients become more relaxed about upcoming treatment, which adds to their sense of security.”

Source: Sicel Technologies, Inc.