Accuray, Siemens to Develop Radiosurgery Products

Accuray Inc., maker of the Cyberknife robotic radiosurgery system, is teaming up with Siemens Medical Solutions to develop advanced imaging and software solutions for use in both radiosurgery and radiotherapy, the companies announced today. They said they will focus on integrating and optimizing Siemens' computed tomography (CT) imaging technology with the CyberKnife system, and will also integrate Accuray's targeting techniques into Siemens' radiotherapy product line. The Cyberknife uses intelligent robotics to treat tumors anywhere in the body with submillimeter accuracy, Accuray said. It treats patients in single or staged (typically 2 to 5) sessions by delivering precisely directed radiation to a tumor while minimizing injury to surrounding healthy tissue. Image guidance and computer-controlled robotics track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement. Because of this precision, no head or body frame is required. Siemens' portfolio of adaptive radiation therapy (ART) products includes the Primatom system, which combines a Siemens linear accelerator with a Somatom sliding-gantry-based computer tomography system. Accuray is exhibiting at the 48th Annual American Society of Therapeutic Radiology meeting this week in Philadelphia.