Elekta Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for XiO Software to Plan Spot Scanning for Proton Therapy

ATLANTA, Dec. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Elekta recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its XiO® treatment planning software to plan spot scanning. Spot scanning is a proton therapy delivery method that involves constructing a highly conformal dose to the tumor by using thousands of small individual beamlets instead of a single large beam. This approach enables Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT).

XiO, Elekta's 3D / Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) treatment planning platform, offers proton therapy centers another option to plan proton deliveries. XiO provides unique tools to facilitate rapid positioning of spots to construct the dose to the tumor, in addition to a proven dose calculation algorithm to optimize each beam.

"The completely automated optimization of the spot deliveries allows clinicians to produce treatment plans with a high degree of conformality around the target, therefore, minimizing the dose to adjacent healthy tissue," says Virgil Willcut, Vice President of Product Management, Physics & Research for Elekta Treatment Planning. "Spot scanning especially is important for pediatric patients since it provides better normal tissue sparing and lower neutron doses than conventional proton planning, both of which reduce the chance of radiation induced side effects for a cohort of patients that are still developing and have long life expectancies."

In clinical use for nearly a decade, XiO is in use at more proton facilities than any other commercial vendor with a similar product. To learn more about Elekta's XiO treatment planning software, visit www.elekta.com/PT-treatmentplanning.

About Elekta

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta