A team of researchers affiliated with the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in Detroit recently launched a novel use of artificial intelligence to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients by making it more precise. The team’s new approach is actively being used at the hospital for cancer patients.
The team’s new system is called the Varian EthosTM system, which comes equipped Hypersight, which is being leveraged to offer cancer patients a tool that can help deliver radiotherapy treatment with a much higher precision that traditional options, increasing the chances of a successful cancer treatment.
Traditionally, radiotherapy can be a powerful treatment option, thought it hasn’t always offered the kind of adaptability and precision many patients always need. In a traditional approach, a plan of treatment is designed and followed through, from start to finish. The challenge, however, has to do with the ever change landscape of human anatomy. Even everyday things like the intestines digesting food can cause a person’s anatomy to shift in very slight but meaningful ways. The development of aptly-title “adaptive” treatment enables clinicians to make adjustments throughout the course of treatments to ensure patients receive precise and personalized treatment. The question is: how can this be accomplished?
The Varian Ethos system does just that: account for these minute and numerous changes in a patient’s anatomy to make treatment more precise and effective.
Using a database of images provided in real-time, the artificial intelligence system can analyze images and detect these minute changes in anatomy that may be challenging to do otherwise or with traditional imaging, which only allows a snapshot in time of a patient’s anatomy. Moreover, the system, through analyzing patient images, can also help determine the ideal dose of radiation a patient should receive.
Patients at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital receiving cancer treatment are now able to access this cutting-edge treatment system, highlighting Henry Ford as a leader in cancer care.
Sources: EurekAlert!; Henry Ford
