At the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), which is taking place this week in San Antonio, Siemens Healthineers unveiled the Magnetom RT Pro edition for Magnetom Sola—a version of the company’s new 1.5 Tesla (T) MRI scanner that is designed for assistance in radiation therapy (RT) treatment planning. In addition to BioMatrix technology, which addresses patients’ anatomical and physiological differences to overcome unwanted exam variability, the new scanner includes hardware and software that supports optimal treatment planning.

The Magnetom RT Pro edition for Magnetom Sola has a new magnet as well as a system architecture designed for high performance and long-term stability. The RT Dot engine predefines RT strategies, automatically corrects for image distortion to improve spatial integrity, and automatically reconstructs axial images to enable direct processing of all data in RT planning software. It also offers an interface with RT positioning lasers to support accurate patient positioning.

Moreover, the scanner’s RT post-planning software, RT Image Suite, permits the calculation of synthetic CT images derived from MR images. These synthetic CT images provide essential information for patients with brain and prostate tumors that typically had been acquired with CT, eliminating the need for patients to lie on the treatment bed for two separate imaging sessions. RT Image Suite is also new to the RT Pro Edition for Magnetom Vida, the 3T scanner for assistance in RT planning that debuted at ASTRO 2017.

Additionally, Resolve software reduces distortions associated with MR diffusion imaging by a factor of three, enabling the use of these images in the dose planning process for the linear accelerator.

“With the introduction of the Magnetom RT Pro edition for Magnetom Sola, Siemens Healthineers once again raises the bar in the development of MRI scanners for assistance in radiation therapy planning, with features such as RT Image Suite that expand precision medicine and improve the overall patient experience,” says Hanno Dotzel,vice president of radiation oncology at Siemens Healthineers North America.