BOSTON -- Siemens Healthineers introduced a new radiotherapy system called Accela on September 27 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.
The system is built around a novel dynamic modulated arc therapy (DMAT) technique called NeoArc, which allows stereotactic treatment to be delivered within a single breath hold, and multisite stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) can be completed in as little as 60 seconds, according to the company. Accela's planning software uses AI and optimization algorithms that let clinicians weigh plan quality against delivery speed, Siemens said.
The system's linear accelerator features the following:
- A large HyperSight cone-beam CT imaging panel
- A newly designed multileaf collimator
- Gantry rotation of 2.5 revolutions per minute
- Dose rates up to 40 Gy/min
- A new 8-MV flattening filter-free energy setting
"It's built on a fundamentally modern architecture and it introduces a generational shift in treatment planning," said Dee Khuntia, MD, chief medical officer at Varian, Siemens' cancer-care business.
The firm developed Accela and NeoArc with input from an advisory group of cancer centers that provided clinical input, research collaboration, and product evaluation. The group includes Mayo Clinic; Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; University Hospital Zurich; Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Maastro - Maastricht Radiation Oncology Institute; Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute; and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Accela is pending clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
