Willis-Knighton Health System Adopts Samsung Corporation BodyTom For Brachytherapy Suite

DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung, an emerging leader in medical imaging technology, announced today that the Willis-Knighton Cancer Center in Shreveport, La., added BodyTom® CT, the world’s first portable, full-body, 32-slice CT (computed tomography) scanner to its brachytherapy suite.

“Open Operating Theatre: Portable CT scanner-based navigation in lumbar pedicle screw insertion”

Willis-Knighton Cancer Center’s five radiation oncologists and eight medical physicists are incorporating BodyTom into treatment workflow processes that daily serve about 100 patients, including up to six brachytherapy treatments. BodyTom eliminates the need to transfer patients to a CT simulator room, eliminating the challenges associated with moving patients, including risk of displacing brachytherapy applicators and adding time to brachytherapy procedures. The increased efficiency has enabled Willis-Knighton Cancer Center to increase use of its CT simulator room for patients who also require imaging as part of their treatment modality.

“Due to the large size of our brachytherapy practice, our CT simulator was incapable of keeping up with demand,” said Lane R. Rosen MD, Willis-Knighton Cancer Center Director of Radiation Oncology. “Efficiency is vital to maintaining our status as one of the country’s leading brachytherapy practices, and based on early observations, adding the BodyTom scanner to our brachytherapy suite has reduced treatment times by 20 to 30 minutes per patient. Additional benefits include increasing comfort, ease and safety for patients as well as enhancing accuracy. We are quite pleased with the results we’ve seen to date.”

BodyTom is a self-shielded, multi-departmental imaging solution capable of transforming any room in the hospital into an advanced imaging suite. The system features an 85cm gantry and a 60cm field of view, the largest field of view available in a portable CT scanner. Uniquely designed to accommodate patients of all sizes, BodyTom provides point-of-care imaging wherever high-quality CT images are needed, including the operating room, intensive care unit, radiation oncology suites and the emergency department. The combination of rapid scan time, flexible settings and immediate image viewing makes the BodyTom a valuable tool to any facility needing versatile real-time portable imaging.

Radiation oncologists use brachytherapy to treat forms of prostate, lung, breast, colorectal and gynecologic cancers. Radioactive sources are temporarily inserted inside tumors or areas of interest; this process enables precise delivery of high doses in a short time. The BodyTom produces high-quality, 3-D images to aid this process and can also be used to double-check the placement of radioactive implants, and make adjustments as necessary, without moving the patient.

“Brachytherapy programs benefit when patients can be scanned in-suite – it can potentially save time, reduce risk and increase patient satisfaction, which are all of critical importance to patients, providers and hospital administrators,” said Phil Sullivan, President and CEO of Samsung NeuroLogica. “Willis-Knighton understands the value to patient care that cutting-edge tools like BodyTom provide. We fully expect more hospital systems and cancer centers to come to the same conclusion.”

The BodyTom portable CT scanner is designed to help medical physicists and radiation oncologists map out a course of treatment at the point of care, in real time. Clinical studies have shown BodyTom CT to be a safe, highly precise tool for aiding the insertion of implants in anatomically complex procedures such as spinal surgery,¹ enhancing outcomes.²

The BodyTom will be on display at Samsung booth #8001 at The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 58th Annual Meeting, September 25-27, 2016 at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center in Boston, Mass.

For more detailed information on BodyTom, visit www.neurologica.com/bodytom.

About Willis-Knighton
Willis-Knighton Health System is a not-for-profit community health organization and the largest healthcare provider in northwest Louisiana. It includes four acute care hospitals, extended care center, skilled nursing, wellness centers and a continuing care retirement community. The health system has demonstrated a commitment to personal attention and advanced technology since its founding in 1924. The health system includes a large network of employed physicians and health professionals among its staff of more than 7,200 full- and part-time employees, making it the region’s largest private employer and a regional referral center for healthcare. The Willis-Knighton Cancer Center, opened in 2000, has gained national and international recognition in the field of radiation oncology. It was among the first cancer centers in the world to offer TomoTherapy, pioneering advancements in its use since that time. In 2014, it opened the WK Proton Therapy Center featuring the world’s first compact pencil-beam scanning system. It is also home to a medical physics residency program that attracts physicists from throughout the country. For additional information visit www.wkhs.com.

About Samsung NeuroLogica
NeuroLogica, the healthcare subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., develops, manufactures and markets innovative imaging technologies and is committed to delivering fast, easy and accurate diagnostic solutions to healthcare providers. NeuroLogica, the global corporate headquarters and manufacturer of Samsung computed tomography, is also the US headquarters for sales, marketing and distribution of all Samsung digital radiography and ultrasound systems. NeuroLogica’s growing portfolio of advanced medical technologies are used worldwide in leading healthcare institutions, helping providers enhance patient care, improve patient satisfaction and increase workflow efficiency. Samsung is committed to being leaders in the field of healthcare imaging. For more information, please visit www.SamsungNeuroLogica.com.

¹ Barsa, P. ET. Al, “Intraoperative portable CT-scanner based spinal navigation - a feasibility and safety study”. Act Neurotic, DOI 10.1007/s00701-014-2184-8.
² Barsa, P. ET. Al, “Open Operating Theatre: Portable CT scanner-based navigation in lumbar pedicle screw insertion”. Ear Spine J, DOI 10.1007/s00586-013-2815-4.