Category: Radparts

Disney and Philips Partner to Improve MRI Exams for Children

For the first time in its history, Disney will collaborate as part of a clinical research project. Children who undergo MRI might soon experience custom-made animation, including specially made Disney stories within Philips Ambient Experience. This solution integrates architecture and design to enable technologies such as dynamic lighting, video projections, and sound to create a relaxing atmosphere.


Six hospitals across Europe have been selected to begin trials this summer; the results will be compiled and released in the fall or winter. Philips will test its Ambient Experience program using animated stories showcasing some of Disney’s most beloved characters. Disney animators will create six pieces of original, stylized Disney animation for use in hospitals. The idea is aimed at reducing fear and anxiety often felt by children who undergo MRI.


Well-known characters such as Mickey Mouse, Ariel, and those from Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars, and others will appear in a diagnostic setting for the first time. The results from the six leading hospitals in Europe will be analyzed to alleviate children’s anxiety, create bonds, and improve staff’s ability to carry out their MRI-related tasks.


MRI scans and other medical exams can be challenging for some adults, and especially for children who are anxious, claustrophobic, or naturally wiggly. The Philips Ambient Experience currently has 2,000 installations worldwide. Its goal is to mitigate those difficulties by creating an engaging, multi-sensory imaging environment that is welcoming and relaxing for children and adults alike.


Patients can select a theme of their choice, personalizing the room’s lighting, video, and sound. Ambient Experience Patient In-bore Connect supports feelings of empowerment and control, as it lets patients relax, follow directions, and minimize motion once they are within the MRI. For younger pediatric patients, this is important to explain scan duration, helping them remain still, and reduces the need for repeat scans.


This new collaboration unifies Philips’ vast clinical knowledge and expertise with Disney’s masterful, engaging storytelling. A sense of familiarity, control, and comfort will surely result from the joint effort.


Jan Koeppen, President, The Walt Disney Company, EMEA, said, “At Disney, we look forward to complementing Philips’ MRI experience with our stories and characters. We are excited to see the results of the clinical research and to quantify the impact our characters can have in this environment.”


Through Aladdin and Jasmine on a magical carpet ride or Spiderman carefully swinging through skyscrapers, each story is customized and designed to support children in their MRI experience.


RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.


 
Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Problematic Body MRI Discrepancy Rates and Errors

Previous studies have outlined disagreement between radiologists and inconsistent secondary interpretations of MRI scans. Researchers at the University of Vermont and the University of Southern California Medical Center have recently published the first study to focus on secondary interpretations of body MRI evaluated by type of likely error. According to the journal article, up to 70 percent of body MRI interpretations have at least one discrepancy. Since most of these errors are cognitive, a push for sub-specialty trained providers to read these studies is crucial.
Interpretation errors, especially those in radiology, are particularly common with MRI scans. Pelvic and abdominal imaging are the most easily misread. These mistakes commonly lead to delayed or improper treatment plans. Discrepancy rates can range from two percent to six percent. Secondary interpretations can be as high as 56 percent, according to existing research.


Researchers retrospectively reviewed 357 secondary body MRI reports captured between January 2015 and December 2018 to determine the actual discrepancy rate. Initial reports were analyzed, and those with discrepancies were divided.


At least one discrepancy was identified in 246 cases, or 68.9 percent. A secondary discrepancy was found in 54 of those cases. Most differences were attributed to cognitive errors (68.8 percent), and secondary discrepancies, considered perceptual errors, accounted for 59.3 percent.
To thoroughly examine the reasons behind these discrepancies, researchers found that faulty reasoning (misclassification of the abnormality) was responsible for 34.3 percent of all instances, including 37.8 percent of primary discrepancies. Additionally, search satisfaction occurred with 37 percent of second discrepancies and 15 percent of overall discrepancies.


The team hypothesized that MRI scans were ordered to answer a specific question. Once that question was answered, the radiologist likely did not examine the rest of the scan for other abnormalities. The discrepancy rates are higher than what was previously reported due to several factors. General radiologists might be unaware of the MRI’s high sensitivity and ability to determine specific diagnoses. Body imaging frequently has the highest error rates, and double-reading by sub-specialists also increases the discrepancy rate.


Read the full article in the American Journal of Roentgenology for more information regarding discrepancy rates and errors. For all your radiation equipment repair needs, contact RadParts today. We have a vast selection of innovative repair solutions that can save you up to 50 percent or more.


RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.


Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

New Cancer Treatment Delivers Weeks of Radiation Therapy in Just One Second

For decades radiation therapy has been used to treat cancer and is still the best option we have at defeating the disease. The downside to radiation therapy is that it often takes weeks or even months for treatment session cycles and comes with collateral damage by also destroying healthy cells in the body.


However, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a way to deliver treatment in under one second. FLASH radiotherapy is an emerging form of therapy that involves giving a patient a one-second dosage of concentrated radiation that they would usually receive over a week. Experiments have proven that the result of the cancerous cells is comparable to the standard treatment duration; however, the exception being that damage to healthy tissue is significantly reduced.


Pennsylvania University researchers found that adjusting the fundamental particle used could make FLASH radiotherapy more effective. Typically, electrons are used in therapy, but they don’t penetrate very deep into the body, meaning they’re really only useful for shallower cancer types such a skin cancer.


The FLASH therapy model uses protons and showed that linear accelerators could be modified to produce and deliver these particles. Since protons penetrate deeper into body tissue, they can be much more effective in treating more significant tumor types.


“The is the first time anyone has published findings that demonstrate the feasibility of using protons, rather than electrons, to generate FLASH doses, with an accelerator currently used for clinical treatments,” says James M. Metz, co-senior author of the study.


Read more on how FLASH treatment is making breakthroughs in treating cancer here.


Radparts provides high quality, user-friendly, and low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com.

Replacing or Upgrading a LINAC? Here’s What You Need to Know

Radiotherapy is a critical treatment process used in hospitals and clinics for patients with cancer. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that you are using the right equipment to gain the highest quality of care. Linear accelerator (LINAC) systems are one of the most expensive assets in terms of medical equipment today. Choosing to replace or upgrade LINAC equipment is a significant matter as it impacts the facility’s operations, doctor’s decisions, and the patient’s health. There are four main categories that equipment can fall into that are based on a hospital or clinic’s needs and capabilities.

Newer Equipment with Full Upgrades

Being able to provide the best level of care for patients should be the highest goal for any medical facility. Thus, having new equipment with upgraded features offers the best of the best in terms of care. If a clinic needs to move, it would still be cost-effective to pay the relocation charges, which can be over $100k in expenses, instead of purchasing a new replacement LINAC system.

Newer Equipment with Fewer Upgrades

Choosing a LINAC system with fewer upgrades can save money and might be more appropriate for smaller clinics that see fewer patients. However, specific technologies, like portal imaging, may be beneficial for those who want higher-quality devices. There is a good chance that a facility will be continuing to use this equipment for a while before it depreciates. The best advice is to determine which upgrades would be most appropriate for your office.

Older Equipment with Full Upgrades

If your LINAC system is older than 20 years, it’s likely your machine has paid for itself even after additional upgrades. Older equipment can still be reliable, but as technology progresses, they soon will end up costing you more money and become less efficient. Also, if a company needs to relocate, the relocation costs may end up costing you more than a new machine.

Older Equipment with Fewer Upgrades

This remaining category should generally be looked upon as the last consideration. In most cases, equipment will no longer perform the necessary tasks required for treatments. Replacement parts will continue to become sparse and more costly as new machines come into the marketplace, rendering older versions obsolete. Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  Radparts provides high quality, user friendly, low cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com/.

Beams Used in Radiation Therapy

The use of external beam radiation therapy is one of the most common forms of cancer treatments that a doctor or oncologist will recommend. This method involves radiotherapy equipment such as a linear accelerator that aims radiation from outside of a patient’s body and directly targets local areas of a cancer site. Various types of cancers can be treated with external beam radiation therapy, and depending on the unique characteristics of the tumor, a selection of systems and treatments will be formed for the best outcome. Not only are there different types of machines that can be used, but also the radiation beam used in external radiation therapy can come from three kinds of particles called photons, protons, and electrons.

Photons

The majority of radiation therapy machines use ionizing photon beams since they can reach tumors deep in the body. Photons are also used in x-rays, although they consume a much lower dose of the particle in comparison. The radiation that is delivered during photon treatment will damage the DNA of tumors and healthy cells alike. Radiation therapists aim to maximize the dose targeting the tumor while minimizing the radiation to nearby healthy tissues by creating different paths with multiple fields. To avoid overexposure to healthy cells, the treatment is generally given in stages over repeated scheduled sessions so that the healthy cells have time to repair.

Protons

Charged particle radiotherapy is an alternative method of radiotherapy that uses beams of protons or other positively charged particles such as helium, carbon, or other ions that are not photons. These types of beams can also reach tumors deep inside the body, but they perform differently than photons as they do not scatter radiation on their path and will stop once they reach the targeted tumor. Due to the physical characteristics of charged particles, it may be possible to cover the tumor area with only one radiation field, creating an advantage over the use of photons to spare more healthy tissues and cells. Clinical trials are continuing to compare the usage of these two energy types. There are cancer centers that are beginning to use proton beams in radiation therapy, but they have higher costs and require a larger space to fit the increased size of the equipment.

Electrons

Particles with a negative charge are electrons. Electron beam radiation therapy is designed to treat cancers like lymphoma and other tumors near the surface since these electrons do not go deep into the body. These therapy options can be done in two different ways:
  1. Spot treatment – This method is used for one or more cancerous spots on the body that needs treatment.
  2. Total Skin Electron Beam Therapy (TSEB) – This method is used when the entire surface of the skin needs to be treated. Other treatments called compensation treatments can be part of the treatment plan to guarantee that every area of the skin receives the proper dose required.
Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment. Radparts provides high quality, user-friendly, and low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com/.

Why Buying a Refurbished Linac Makes Sense for a Clinic

When deciding to add or upgrade a facility’s medical linear accelerator (Linac) many factors need to be thoroughly examined such as budget, location, time frames, and other personal impacts. One major decision to make is if to purchase a new or used/refurbished Linac and determining which will offer the best benefits long term. Depending on your situation sometimes a new Linac is required but most often a refurbished option will work perfectly, allowing you to save money as well. Below, are a few reasons to choose a refurbished linear accelerator for your next purchase.

Fewer Patients Being Treated

If your company is new or smaller in size, purchasing a refurbished Linac could be very beneficial. Pre-owned or refurbished Linac’s cost less and have lower monthly lease payments than choosing new equipment. Having fewer than 8 to 10 patients a day is generally considered a small medical facility. With fewer patients equals less money to help cover the costs of equipment fees so taking it low and slow maybe a better business option to guarantee that your clinic continues to grow at a steady pace, allowing quality and effective treatments for all patients. Veterinarian clinics or research facilities may also benefit from a refurbished Linac as they generally do not require all the advanced technologies provided in newer models. The use of linear accelerators may not always be for medical use; instead for industrial uses to image materials.

 Operating with Only One Linac or Want a Backup

Often a dilemma will arise when a company is moving into a new location and cannot afford to have a machine down during the relocation process, which can take about 3 to 4 weeks for the transition. An option to avoid this situation is to purchase a refurbished replacement that is like the existing equipment and have it installed in the new location. Once the new facility is complete and open for business, the patients can receive treatment with the newly refurbished equipment and you can either keep the original linear accelerator as a backup or sell it. This solution prevents companies from losing patients from a lack of available machines.

Other Factors to Consider in Budget

Purchasing a used or new linear accelerator is only the first step in getting the proper equipment setup for your business. Other services that should be researched with your Linac is the warranty, service and maintenance plans. This information will help you decipher which options are best for your facility and meet your needs. Also, remember to consider the costs of equipment removal and disposal. The purchasing and planning process of linacs can be very overwhelming which is why choosing the right company for the job is key for a successful addition/upgrade to your facility. Radparts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts for Linear Accelerators and Radiation Oncology equipment.  Radparts provides high quality, user friendly, low cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. More information can be found at https://www.radparts.com/.

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