Regional Cancer Care First in Canada with New Partnership

The Regional Cancer Care Program at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has created another strategic alliance, this time with a company out of St. Louis, Missouri, that positions the program as the first cancer centre in Canada to incorporate this new system. The Medical Physics program at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre will use CMS treatment planning software with cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Regional Cancer Care has implemented a new treatment planning system that will be a keystone to both their short and long term strategic plans for advancing the delivery of radiation treatments to cancer patients in Northwestern Ontario. CMS was chosen due to its excellence with facilitating the process of providing seamless transitions and minimal disruptions to workflow, with an excellent balance between technical capability and a user-friendly interface. “Whenever we seek out our next strategic partnership, we always ensure that our care delivery mandate is at the forefront of all planning and programming, initiatives, and partnership development,” said Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer and Diagnostic Services. “Our mandates dictate that the patient needs drive the initiatives and planning, and with our new partnership with CMS, we feel that this will not only improve the care that our patients moving through our radiation treatment program receive, but will further position the cancer program at TBRHSC as a leading edge facility.”

Regional Cancer Care acquired multiple ‘XiO’ workstations for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), enhancements for CT simulation, and CMS Broadband for remote access and planning. The complete suite of products provides unique advantages in accessibility, compatibility and technology. XiO is a high-speed treatment planning system that allows users to accurately generate plans. It also optimizes radiation therapy delivery through customization, seamless image transfer, and flexible dose calculations. “We are very pleased with our new partnership with Regional Cancer Care,” stated Andrew Cowen, President and CEO of CMS, Inc. “We have developed and enhanced our product lines through our alliances with industry leaders to ensure that we are positioned as a pioneer and leader in the field of radiation treatment planning. All of the new tools and techniques that we employ have the potential to transform the delivery of patient care and drive improved outcomes for cancer patients, and we are proud to be working with the regional cancer program in Thunder Bay to provide these improvements in care and service delivery.”

With seamless movement of data between computers and planning workstations, the CMS treatment planning solutions provide flexibility in treatment simulation, planning and contouring for patients about to receive radiation therapy. The software runs on most modern desktop PCs and doesn’t require special hardware or configuration.

One of the more interesting features of this treatment planning system, CMS Broadband allows clinicians the freedom to plan remotely through any computer with high-speed internet access, such as a DSL or a cable modem connection. Clinical staff can stay in touch with the planning process at the hospital without physically being there. It is convenient for contouring, placing beams, changing leaf positions, and reviewing and approving plans from any remote location. They can work from home, while traveling, or at a satellite location. This is infinitely applicable and a diagnostic and treatment delivery boost for Regional Cancer Care, with its challenges of geography and access. These have always been at the foundation of the initiatives and programming at the centre, and one of its primary mandates stresses the delivery of care as close to home as possible. To facilitate this mandate, the centre’s Radiation Oncologists have scheduled rotations in many of the communities across the region to conduct peripheral clinics. With the Oncologists away from the centre for days at a time, their absence impacts delivery of care. Broadband capability provides a significant opportunity to address these problems, enhancing the means for physicians to access the information required to make critical clinical decisions and allow treatments to proceed as though they were on site. “We required a system that could deliver seamless integration, state-of-the-art technology and new efficiencies to help us grow,” said Dr. Peter McGhee, Director of Medical Physics. “CMS had these particularly innovative approaches to delivering care, and with the challenges of our region, it is essential that we have adaptive approaches to patient care and access.”

In the less immediate future, Regional Cancer Care is looking to implement IMRT treatments within a year, and with this next step with CMS, it is well positioned to implement initiatives like IMRT, to treat certain cancer sites like prostate and head and neck. “Our patient volumes will only continue to grow in the next few years,” stated Dr. Sunil Gulavita, Head of Radiation Oncology. “We critically need those technologic and treatment advances that will allow us to maintain our high levels of treatment and care delivery which ultimately benefit the patient. Our radiation treatment wait times are among the best in the province, and we absolutely insist that every initiative and new treatment technique helps us improve those numbers to deliver our best patient care.”

CMS, Inc. is a world leader in the development and support of radiation treatment software. With treatment planning systems installed in more than 1,500 sites worldwide, CMS is a global resource to radiation oncology departments for treatment planning software and prostate brachytherapy systems. A privately held corporation, CMS employs 250 professionals in its headquarters located in St. Louis, MO, and regional offices in Freiberg, Germany; Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan.

:: back to Media Releases ::