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profile: long island jewish hospital
IMRT Treatments-Efficiency,
Versatility, and Precision |
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Customer Snapshot |
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Efficiency
Few radiation oncology departments have been treating patients
with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) as long as
Long Island Jewish Hospital (LIJ), who began utilizing this
technology in September 1998. The iterations of technology for
IMRT since that time have been many, and technical
co-coordinator Linda Schaaf, RTT for LIJ recalls the laborious,
time-consuming methods utilized in the “early” days of treating
with IMRT. “The sheer number of keystrokes involved with
manually entering each field was arduous.” Schaaf continued, “We
had to use ‘back up disks’ for each patient, further protracting
the time spent on each case. IMPAC has streamlined the whole
treatment process,” said Schaaf, indicating the time saved had
dramatically increased their efficiency.
Versatility
Technological advances are often wrought with technical
difficulties, at least at first. Such was the case at LIJ in the
beginning. Different interphases required extra time and effort
on all levels to ensure accuracy and quality assurance. But once
they were able to upgrade their equipment and start using IMPAC
to seamlessly integrate treatment planning and delivery, with
streamlined setup, verification, recording, and image
management, their IMRT process became increasingly productive.
Open systems integration is perhaps the most significant
advancement according to Schaaf. Each patient’s comprehensive
IMRT treatment plan now moves easily between systems. With each
machine ’talking’ to the other, there is the symbiosis required
for efficient and effective treatment.
Precision
Because there are no manual data entries, and treatment
information flows directly from CT Scanner, to Treatment
Planning System and IMPAC’s verification system, complex IMRT
treatment parameters are more precise, and less vulnerable to
human error. “We can now focus on the advantages of IMRT, which
are crucial to the continued success of our program” said Schaaf.
“Such precision is imperative for each patient, and it is vital
that the software keep pace with the treatment technology.”
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Long Island Jewish Hospital's radiation oncology team |
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[Email
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