OREANDA-NEWS. Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), today announced medical dosimetrists using its Eclipse™ treatment planning software created the top scoring photon and proton radiotherapy treatment plans in the 2016 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists (AAMD) and Radiosurgery Society (RSS) Plan Study. In addition to these two awards, Eclipse was also used to create the top five scoring photon treatment plans. With the goal of helping drive out variation and improve radiotherapy treatment plan quality, the study uses scientific methods to identify best practices, high performing individuals and systems and share this information with the radiotherapy community.

The 2016 study involved 420 participants who each generated a treatment plan for a stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) prostate case. Plans were submitted via a cloud-based system called ProKnow, and were scored objectively based on many different target and organ-at-risk metrics and their respective scoring functions.

"Eclipse is an invaluable tool in our treatment planning process and played a big part in our ability to achieve the highest score in this study," said David Littlejohn, CMD, RT(T), Senior Certified Medical Dosimetrist, 21st Century Oncology. "I use Eclipse on a daily basis and it has simplified and accelerated the process of creating optimized radiotherapy treatment plans."

"Congratulations to David and the other top scorers in the 2016 AAMD/RSS Plan Study," said Eric Lindquist, vice president, Clinical Solutions, Varian Oncology Systems. "We are working closely with oncology clinicians, such as these individuals, to develop and deliver best-in-class tools for fighting cancer. The results of this study are validation of those efforts and the market-leading technology and capabilities of the Eclipse software."

In use at approximately 3,400 cancer treatment centers around the world, Eclipse software creates an optimized radiotherapy treatment plan based on a physician's dose instructions, and information about the size, shape and location of the tumor to be treated with radiation. The Eclipse software incorporates unique features such as RapidPlan™ knowledge-based planning, which can make it easier and faster to plan sophisticated cancer treatments like SBRT, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and RapidArc® radiotherapy.

About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, focuses energy on saving lives by equipping the world with advanced technology for fighting cancer and for X-ray imaging. The company is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiation. The company provides comprehensive solutions for radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices.