Why brachytherapy for bronchus and esophagus?
- High, conformal dose
- Small volume
- Sparing the normal lung tissue
- Follows breathing movement
- Suitable for curative and palliative treatments
Intraluminal brachytherapy
Bronchus and esophagus
Connectivity to MOSAIQ® OIS
Confidence for you and your patients
- Automated scheduling and billing process
- Documented dose and structure sets
- Provide a more efficient and electronic way to capture information that will be included in the patient's Continuity of Care Document (CCD), data as required for meaningful use (Stage 1 and beyond)
- Automatically exchange treatment plans created with Oncentra Brachy and treatment records generated by the afterloader
- Perform dose tracking based on the treatment plan and treatment record for the selected and verified patient
- Contributes to paperless brachytherapy workflow information
Applicator selection to treat lung cancer
Diagnostic imaging guides the applicator choice
Bronchus and Esophagus Applicators
Elekta offers two advanced applicators for lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and other intraluminal brachytherapy treatment applications. The LumenCare® Azure Applicator is specifically designed to improve the delivery of lung cancer and esophageal cancer brachytherapy treatments by the radiation oncologist, expanding the treatable area.
View applicator guide"The more flexible and kink-resistant material of the LumenCare Azure makes it much easier to reach tumors in the upper lobe, an area where many of the lung tumors tend to occur."
Janusz Skowronek, PhD, Asst. Prof. Head of Brachytherapy Department, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Poznań, Poland
Applicator insertion treatment options
Bonvoisin-Gérard Esophageal Applicator Set
The Bonvoisin-Gérard esophageal applicator is designed to assist in the treatment of an endoscopically obstructed esophagus. By using this special dilation applicator with tapered flexible tip, the treatment area can be reached by bouginage. The bougie tube will also assist in centering the treatment catheter internally to minimize the mucosal dose while ensuring optimal depth dose penetration of the esophageal wall. Radiographic markers on the bougie tube aid in fluoroscopic placement and localization of the applicator.
- Easy applicator insertion using endoscopy
- Excellent source centering
- Radio-opaque applicator marking assists placement and localization
LumenCare® Azure Applicator Set
The LumenCare Azure applicator set offers clinicians an excellent solution for lung brachytherapy applications. It is specifically designed to improve the delivery of lung cancer treatments, expanding the treatable area.
- Highly flexible and kink-resistant material to reach challenging tumor locations
- Smoothness of catheter facilitates fast and simple lung brachytherapy procedures
- Superior visibility allows for easy insertion into bronchus
Esophageal Applicator Set
The esophageal applicator is designed for direct insertion into the esophagus to treat cancers. The applicator can be positioned orally under fluoroscopy or endoscopic examination. It is provided with an additional outer layer to reduce the dose to the esophageal mucosa and support applicator integrity.
- Specific outer applicator surface reduces dose to mucosa
- Easy applicator insertion using fluoroscopy
Imaging
Determine applicator position relative to tumor and OaR
This step is not always done when it comes to bronchial and esophageal cancer, in some cases a CT will be done which will be used for the radiation therapy treatment planning. In the case of esophagus this could be a standard plan.
Treatment planning for lung cancer
Homogeneous dose delivery on the target while sparing the OaR
Oncentra Brachy
Comprehensive treatment planning software
Designing the optimal dose distribution to treat lung cancer can be a time-consuming job. The latest version of Oncentra Brachy offers a series of useful tools that simplify many repetitive tasks, such as contouring and reconstruction. Oncentra Brachy buys you time to focus on what counts: creating the optimal dose distribution.
View Brochure
Reduce implant reconstruction time
- Instant applicator reconstruction in relation to anatomy
- Contains the complete geometry of Elekta's gynecological applicators
- Includes the measured source paths of ring applicators
- Accounts for dose attenuation resulting from shielding during planning and shields are fully visible
Dose distribution calculated by ACE
- Algorithm based on the TG-186 recommendations published by the AAPM workgroup in 2012
- Discriminates between tissue, air and bone
- Accounts for tissue heterogeneities, lack of backscatter from areas with no tissue, applicator attenuation and shielding
Implant modeling tool
- Reconstruct multicatheter implants immediately
- Drag & Drop 3D applicator geometry for accurate and fast reconstruction
- Extra Coordinate System (ECS) allows quick and easy navigation to the correct plane views
Automatic dose optimization
IPSA
- Paired with the Dwell Time Deviation Constraint (DTDC)
- Limits high variation in dwell times
HIPO
- Improves plan optimization with Dwell Time Gradient Restriction (DTGR)
- Control high and low peaks in dwell times
- Focus optimization where it is needed with needle locking
Treatment delivery
Safe, simple, intuitive brachytherapy workflow
Five simple features are the basis for the Flexitron way of working, introducing a new standard in treatment delivery
- Standardized transfer lengths, less prone to human errors during reconstruction as there is only one indexer length.
- Reference zero at entrance of applicator, no need to measure the distal tip.
- Metric dwell position numbering, 1 mm step size in a treatment window of 400 mm.
- Forward stepping results in a reproducible source positioning within 0,5mm accuracy
- Intuitive user interface, smooth navigation saves time.
Why Flexitron?
- Simple quality assurance
- 40-channel option for large implants
- Connected to major oncology systems such as MOSAIQ®
- Safe investment with future upgrade potential
- Available in either Iridium-192 or Cobalt-60*
* Not available in all countries.
Patient out
Find out about brachytherapy for other body regions
What our customers say
Chris Lee, MPE at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, UK, on Flexitron
BrachyAcademy
Empowering through education
Peer-to-peer education platform for brachytherapy professionals
The BrachyAcademy comprises a complete peer-to-peer medical education library and includes programs such as clinical workshops and training visits to leading hospitals worldwide.
Learn more
about brachytherapy
We've created our online educational brachytherapy portal for patients and those who are supporting patients throughout their curative treatment, to provide key information and to help those affected gain an understanding of brachytherapy.
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