Kill Cancer By New Tech: Radiology application for mobile devices...WOW!

Kill Cancer By New Tech: Radiology application for mobile devices...WOW!: "Provides wireless access to medical images for iPhone, iPad users FDA clears first diagnostic radiology application for mobile devices,..."

Radiology application for mobile devices...WOW!

Provides wireless access to medical images for iPhone, iPad users

FDA clears first diagnostic radiology application for mobile devices, A new mobile radiology application cleared today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow physicians to view medical images on the iPhone and iPad manufactured by Apple Inc.

The application is the first cleared by the FDA for viewing images and making medical diagnoses based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET). It is not intended to replace full workstations and is indicated for use only when there is no access to a workstation.

 “This important mobile technology provides physicians with the ability to immediately view images and make diagnoses without having to be back at the workstation or wait for film,” said William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., chief scientist and deputy director for science in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

Radiology images taken in the hospital or physician’s office are compressed for secure network transfer then sent to the appropriate portable wireless device via software called Mobile MIM. Mobile MIM, manufactured by Cleveland-based MIM Software Inc., allows the physician to measure distance on the image and image intensity values and display measurement lines, annotations and regions of interest.

In its evaluation, the FDA reviewed performance test results on various portable devices. These tests measured luminance, image quality (resolution), and noise in accordance with international standards and guidelines. The FDA also reviewed results from demonstration studies with qualified radiologists under different lighting conditions. All participants agreed that the device was sufficient for diagnostic image interpretation under the recommended lighting conditions.

The display performance of mobile devices can experience significant variations in luminance levels even between mobile devices of the same model. The Mobile MIM application includes sufficient labeling and safety features to mitigate the risk of poor image display due to improper screen luminance or lighting conditions. The device includes an interactive contrast test in which a small part of the screen is a slightly different shade than the rest of the screen. If the physician can identify and tap this portion of the screen, then the lighting conditions are not interfering with the physician’s ability to discern subtle differences in contrast. In addition, a safety guide is included within the application.

source: FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration

 www.fda.gov

Breast cancer is being successfully treated

Blocking receptors

You may do not know that drugs can disrupt the function of receptors on a cell's surface.  Breast cancer – the most prevalent cancer affecting women – is being successfully treated using these "receptor blockers." many cancers actually require hormones to grow. Breast cancer is a very good example. Breast cancer arises in the breast, and the breast is an organ that is responsive to the female hormone, estrogen.

Cancers derived in the breast, therefore, especially in older women, tend to require estrogen to grow. If we can starve that cell of estrogen, we can actually make that cancer cell die.

One of the drugs is called tamoxifen, which actually attaches to the estrogen receptor.

The estrogen receptor is a protein that is found in many breast cancer cells that finds estrogen in surrounding blood, takes it into the cell, and signals the cell to grow.

Well, tamoxifen attaches to the estrogen receptor so the estrogen can’t attach to the receptor. And when tamoxifen and the receptor for estrogen go into the nucleus of the cell, it attaches to the DNA and actually signals the cell not only to grow but to die. So that’s a very important molecule.

One of the really important things to know about cancer is that no two cancers are the same. They're all different. There is tremendous variations in the molecules that are involved in making a cell cancerous.  By identifying those molecules in the individual case,  therapy can be individualized – give people the medicines they need, and not give medicines to people if they are not going to benefit.The estrogen receptor is not the only target in the treatment of breast cancer. Another important target is the human epidermal growth factor receptor (Her-2), which is over-expressed in 25% of breast cancers, leading to cellular growth and proliferation. 

 If a cell has too much her2, the cell will be dividing too often because the cell will be interpreting many stimuli in the environment as stimuli cause it to divide whereas a normal cell wouldn’t.  It makes that cell have too much of a tendency for cell division and to go on to form a lump and to go on and spread into the surrounding tissue like an invasion or to grow on other parts of the body.

We've developed an antibody that attaches to her2. Antibodies are the proteins that your body makes naturally in response to infections. And your body normally makes lots of antibodies, and should be that's how come you fight lots of infections. However,  her2 antibodies can be made –  we call it Trastuzumab or Herceptin – outside the human body and give it to the patient intravenously if that patient has a cancer, particularly a breast cancer, with too much her2 in it.  

Herceptin is one example of a treatment that targets a specific molecule in a particular type of cancer.  As more of these precisely targeted therapies are developed, it will become increasingly important to understand which molecules play important roles in a particular individual’s cancer.

 more information: 

Larry Norton, M.D

Memorial Sloan-Kettering

Cancer center

Insidecancer.org

A new way to kill cancer cells

Unlike normal cells, cancer cells can grow and age without dying — one of the reasons they’re so dangerous. But researchers at Washington State University have developed a way to help cancer cells age and die, which could lead to treatment that slows or stops tumor growth.

How do cancer cells differ from normal cells in terms of their mortality?

The big difference between cancer cells and normal cells is that cancer cells can divide forever and live forever. We call this immortality. The normal cells will divide for a number of divisions and then stop growing. They get old and either they die or they sit there and do nothing. They are mortal.

Cancer cells have a way to maintain their telomeres. Their telomeres don’t get shortened. Each time the normal cells divide they lose some telomere DNA sequences. Eventually when the telomere DNA becomes too short, they stop growing. There are also other factors contributing to the mortality of normal cells.

Is the immortality of cancer cells what makes them so dangerous?

The cancer cells divide uncontrollably. Then you have more and more cancer cells in one location of your body that can invade the surrounding tissues and disrupt the function of the normal tissues. They form the tumor. The cancer cells also can circulate around your body and get into other places and form tumors in the new locations. This is in part due to the immortality of cancer cells. They don’t die. Normal cells grow at one location and at some point they will stop.

 www.smartplanet.com

ShieldTech™ Radiation Protection Doors

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                                  www.astro.org

ACCULOC® IGRT

External mark setup introduces considerable target uncertainty resulting from internal organ motion and patient
position variability. ACCULOC IGRT eliminates this uncertainty using implanted gold fiducials or anatomic landmarks
with EPID or CR images. The 3D transformation software (ISOLOC™) outputs exact couch translations for highaccuracy, verifiable localization.

In addition, ACCULOC has the versatility
to support image pairs at any angle -
nonorthogonal images can accommodate larger
patients, hip replacements and other challenges.

For more information, please follow this link: www.civco.com

Compton scatter reveals dose deposition

A system and method for directly measuring dose deposition during radiation therapy has been developed by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (Rochester, MN). The system uses a Compton camera imager to image photons that have been ejected from the subject due to Compton scattering induced by the radiation treatment. The filing also details a method for reconstructing the acquired Compton scatter photon data to produce an image that shows dose deposition in the subject (WO/2010/141583).medicalphysicsweb.org

Shielding enhances MRI-irradiation system

    

Kill Cancer By New Tech: External Radiation Therapy

Kill Cancer By New Tech: External Radiation Therapy: "What Is Radiation Therapy? Cancer is a disease that causes cells to grow abnormally and out of control. In radiation therapy, high-e..."

External Radiation Therapy

What Is Radiation Therapy? 

Cancer is a disease that causes cells to grow abnormally and out of control. In radiation therapy, high-energy X-rays are directed at a person's body to kill cancer cells and keep them from growing and multiplying.

Most people have been exposed to radiation in t he form of an X-ray — most likely at a dentist's office. And just like the X-rays given in the dentist's office, radiation therapy is painless. But unlike a typical X-ray, the radiation isn't used just to create a picture of a tooth or broken bone. Radiation therapy delivers higher doses of radiation so that the radiation will kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

While it's killing the cancer, radiation therapy also can damage normal cells. The good news is that normal cells are more likely to recover from the effects of radiation. Doctors take precautions to protect a person's healthy cells when they're giving radiation treatments.

Gold Markers...New tech for better cancer treatment

Different types of gold markers

Today's high-precision radiotherapy technologies for prostate cancer treatment require accurate localization of the gland just prior to and during radiation delivery. The implantable fiducial markers paired with localization software allow to position the target accurately and spare surrounding tissue.

Gold Soft Tissue Markers are pure gold cylinders specially knurled to inhibit migration. Standard Gold Soft Tissue Markers are 3mm long and 0.8, 0.9, 1.2 or 1.6mm in diameter. They are available as loose markers or in sterilized preloaded needles for ease of use. 

The use of Implanted Fiducial Gold Markers is now standard procedure for external beam radiotherapy treatment of the prostate. Treatment margins can be reduced with image-based verification and correction for the prostate position. This ensures precision targeted radiation and reduces the dose to surrounding normal tissues (e.g. rectal wall, bladder).

Gold markers are clearly visible on CT and MR scans and can be used for CT-MR fusion for improved delineation of the prostatic gland.