OSMS to AlignRT Standardization

Overview

Institution Type: Hospital-based cancer center
SGRT System: OSMS (3) and AlignRT (3)
Linacs: Varian Truebeam (4), Varian Edge (2)
Cancer types treated: All cancer types treated

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CENTER OBJECTIVES

Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute (LVHN) wanted to increase their utilization of OSMS for more treatment sites and offer their patients the safest and most accurate ra“diation therapy treatment possible across all three centers.

EMPHASIS ON SAFETY

LVHN has the highest standards for delivering safe, high-quality cancer care. The staff wanted to determine if AlignRT could help them deliver this to their patients.

STANDARDIZATION

The center wanted to have all therapists following the same workflows and offering their patients the same safe and accurate radiation on all six linacs.

EFFICIENCY

The team wanted to improve their treatment times and patient set-up. They also wanted to be able to monitor their patients during treatment to ensure the best accuracy.

OUR APPROACH: COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING SESSION

Vision RT’s Clinical Application Specialist provided the accessibility and on-site training that helped Lehigh Valley develop consistent workflows to achieve their desired treatments most effectively and efficiently.

The staff was re-trained on AlignRT, and upgraded to the new Advance software and Postural Video.

DRAWING ROIs

Taught staff how to draw ROI’s correctly and reduced “jumpy” deltas.

DIBH

Adjusted imaging and table shift workflows.

DIBH BOLUS WORKFLOW

Conducted a focused one-on-one training session with the entire staff.

TREATMENT CAPTURES

Assisted with set-up and taking SSD’s outside of the room.

Results

1. Increased utilization from 2 treatment sites to 10 sites: FB Breast, DIBH Breast, Lung, Abdomen, Spine, SRS, Supine Pelvis, SBRT Lung, SBRT Liver, SBRT Other.

2. Reduced their re-imaging rates by 50% for their DIBH patients.

3. Upgraded to AlignRT Advance and Postural Video for an easier, streamlined user experience. All linacs and OSMS systems are now fully upgraded to AlignRT technology.

4. Purchased another AlignRT system to fully standardize all six linacs.

“When we first acquired AlignRT, our therapists felt it was cumbersome and we struggled to implement the technology in a meaningful way. Our group came up with a plan to investigate expanding our indications, agreeing to take a stepwise approach and collect some data. AlignRT has now become an important tool in our toolkit, and I wouldn’t have guessed the positive impact it has had on our setups and efficiencies or the number of sites we are using it on today.”

Dennis Sopka, M.D. Chairman of Radiation Oncology/Radiation Oncologist

“I love how accurate and fast it is to set up patients with the AlignRT system. Not only is it great for setup, but it allows us to monitor patient movement during treatment. This lets us have shorter treatment times so patients are not on the treatment table as long.”

Jennifer Slivka, RT(T), BS Radiation Therapist

When we first got AlignRT, we did not realize how much it would positively impact our patients’ treatments. At first, we utilized it for mostly breast patients. After seeing the impact and how it is extremely beneficial, we now use it for nearly all patients.

Nicole Schmidt, RT(T), BS Radiation Oncology Supervisor

Future Plans

Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute plans to increase treatment site utilization and offer tattoo and mark-free treatment for their patients. They will also utilize Vision RT’s Patient Education Toolkit to help their Physician Liaisons educate the referring provider community and their patients.

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