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Trusted Global Leader in SRS Showcases New Treatment Planning & Delivery Options for SBRT at ASTRO 2008

iPlan(R)Monte Carlo, iPlan Head & Neck Automatic Atlas Segmentation, ExacTrac(R) Adaptive Gating and ExacTrac Snap Verification are designed to expand treatment possibilities for SBRT and increase treatment options for clinicians. Based on more than a decade of BrainLAB experience in precision radiosurgery and combining highly advanced SBRT treatment planning and delivery tools, clinicians can use these clinically proven technologies to tackle the most challenging SBRT and extracranial radiosurgery cases, including lung and head & neck indications.

iPlanMonte Carlo and iPlan Head & Neck Automatic Atlas Segmentation treatment planning solutions minimize treatment area restrictions, including time, system, modality and software integration limitations. iPlanMonte Carlo photon dose calculation provides highly accurate dose calculations for SBRT within seconds for highly precise treatment delivery to inhomogeneous regions like the lung. The powerful speed and intuitive interface enables a broader treatment spectrum and use with every patient. Seamless integration allows for use with all major linear accelerators and multi-leaf collimator (MLC) types.

iPlan Head & Neck Automatic Atlas Segmentation delivers fast, automatic contouring for more than 40 head and neck organs at risk. Consistent segmentation outcomes lead to more accurate treatment planning and eliminate the time-consuming process and inconsistent results of manual- or threshold-based segmentation. Head & Neck Automatic Atlas Segmentation generates results within two minutes, supporting frequent plan updates for Adaptive RT.

ExacTrac is a leading IGRT (Image-Guided Radiation Therapy) choice among clinicians for tumor motion management. The room-based design of ExacTrac allows Snap Verification images to be taken at anytime whether the treatment beam is on or off and for any gantry and couch position.

ExacTrac Snap Verification detects and compensates for random patient and internal tumor movement in real-time. Snap Verification enables flexible intra-fraction IGRT verification, including detection of mechanical inaccuracies from couch rotation for safe delivery of advanced SBRT protocols and frameless radiosurgery treatment. ExacTrac Adaptive Gating is a linac-based IGRT system that allows detecting and compensating breathing baseline shifts that occur with the patient's breathing pattern. ExacTrac Adaptive Gating and Snap Verification allow clinicians to confidently deliver highly precise, targeted treatment for SBRT.

"The intra-fraction patient imaging and verification provided by ExacTrac Snap Verification allows us to track possible target motion throughout treatment and realign targeting during the treatment fraction if intra-fraction tumor displacement is detected. We can now be certain that treatment is delivered precisely to the target throughout the entire fraction -- giving us the confidence to escalate our doses and further reduce safety margins," said Donna McCorkle, Chief Therapist, B.S.R.T.(T.), Hollywood Radiation Oncology,Hollywood, Florida, USA.

"We are excited to introduce treatment planning and delivery solutions that make SBRT less complex and easy to apply in everyday clinical practice. Building on our experience in precision radiosurgery, BrainLAB continues to lead developments in the field, offering clinicians superior tools for increased treatment options and improved patient care," added Ralf Schira, Global Marketing Manager, Oncology Solutions, BrainLAB.

For more information on BrainLAB SBRT treatment planning and delivery tools, please visit brainlab.com.

About BrainLAB

BrainLAB develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology that enables procedures that are more precise, less invasive, and also less expensive than traditional treatments.

Among the core products are image-guided systems that provide highly accurate real-time information used for navigation during surgical procedures. This utility has been further expanded to serve as a computer terminal for physicians to more effectively access and interpret diagnostic scans and other digital medical information for better informed decisions.

BrainLAB solutions allow expansion from a single system to operating suites to digitally integrated hospitals covering all subspecialties from neurosurgery, orthopedics, ENT, CMF to spine & trauma and oncology. With 3,000 systems installed in over 70 countries, BrainLAB is a market leader in image-guided technology.

The privately held BrainLAB group, founded in 1989, is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and today employs 1,000 people in 16 offices acrossEurope, Asia,Australia, North andSouth America. For more information, visit BrainLAB at http://www.brainlab.com.

(R) Registered trademark of BrainLAB AG inGermany and/or the US

SOURCE BrainLAB