NOTTINGHAM, England, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Delivering
Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) effectively and safely
involves careful coordination of sophisticated systems, such as the
therapy machine and its imaging subsystems, as well as the electronic medical record
(EMR) used to schedule and record patient treatments. Clinicians at
Nottingham University Hospital are piloting their new IGRT program
with SYNERGISTIQ™, Elekta’s workflow management system for
Elekta Synergy® linear accelerators. Nottingham’s Radiotherapy
Services Manager, Russell Hart, reports that SYNERGISTIQ is
streamlining IGRT by orchestrating MOSAIQ® EMR and Elekta
Synergy activities from a single workstation.

“The cone beam CT capabilities provided by the two Synergy
systems we acquired are new to this department,” Hart says. “Given
that, and looking at the high potential workflow for these systems
– as many as 40 patients per day per system – we wanted
the IGRT be as efficient as possible. We were impressed with how
SYNERGISTIQ provided a very streamlined workflow for the
radiographer, who operates the linac.

The fact that Nottingham already operated four Elekta Precise
Treatment System™ linacs did not confer an advantage to the
company during equipment evaluations, as National Health Service
(NHS) guidelines for major procurements require that centers
evaluate the solutions of all relevant providers, Hart notes.

“Only Elekta was able to offer that single workstation for the
operator, which the others claimed to have but, in reality, did
not,” he says. “That meant that Elekta presented a total solution
that included workflow and oncology information management, as well
as the Elekta Synergy treatment systems and treatment
planning with Monaco®.”

MOSAIQ oncology information system went clinical at Nottingham
in June 2010, followed b

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