Wednesday, September 24, 2008
2008 R&D 100 Winner
Advanced radio imaging is producing a wealth of information for physicians, but the quantity of data can be a liability for those who need interpret it. In radiotherapy, for example, human experts must recognize and define the location of organs at risk; it’s a time-consuming manual task. In addition, computed tomography (CT) imaging equipment is producing far too much data now for humans to sort through.
The Smart Segmentation automatic contouring utility from Varian Medical Systems Inc., Las Vegas, Nev., is intended to eliminate these imaging headaches by replacing the manual contour drawing on CT images with segmentation software. The tool collects all CT slices of a patient examination automatically then systematically builds a color-coded map starting with organ orientation and finishing with fine details.
Within one minute, Smart Segmentation software finds all relevant body parts and organ boundaries. The entire CT organ delineation process is shrunk from one hour to five minutes, eliminating 1,000 mouse clicks or more. Finally, this system paves the way for dynamic therapies, where treatment routines are based directly on results from CT scans, which must be evaluated quickly.
Technology
Medical software tool
Developer
Varian Medical Systems Inc.
