Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS @ WORK
Cancer
Doctors have been using radiation therapy as a treatment for
cancer since the 1940s. The treatment has saved countless lives,
yet has been somewhat imprecise until recently. The original
method of treating a tumor with radiation used a linear accelerator
that delivered radiation in rectangular beams. Doctors used lead
blocks to prevent the beams from harming healthy tissue. The
process was cumbersome and only partially effective. Surrounding
tissue was often destroyed along with the tumor.
In the 1980s, a machine called an MLC, for multileaf collima-
tor, was invented. The MLC had motorized leaves to disrupt the
beam of radiation and focus it more closely on where it was
needed. Still, the treatment was imprecise, lacking real-time
control of the radiation intensity and direction.
Until the mid-1990s, most of the development of radiation
treatment technologies focused on hardware. Varian Medical
Systems decided that devising a more effective system would
require a heavy investment in software development. Computing
processors and hardware were advanced enough to precisely
control beams of radiation, but the software to empower
the hardware had yet to be developed. Varian transformed itself
from a hardware company to a software company to get the
job done.
Varian hired experts in programming embedded controls,
user interfaces, treatment planning, and databases. It proceeded
incrementally over many years to develop a trustworthy and
powerful system called the SmartBeam IMRT (for Intensity
Modulated Radiation Therapy), which is now in use at thousands of
medical facilities around the world.
The SmartBeam IMRT combines an x-ray and radiation tech-
nology into one device that rotates around the patient delivering
radiation at precise intensities from any angle. The machine is the
first that allows physicians to examine and treat a tumor at the
same time. The on-board imager produces “high-resolution
images of tumors and tracks changes in a tumor's shape, size,
and position… that when coupled with SmartBeam IMRT, allows
clinicians to be even more precise when targeting tumors,” accord-
ing to Computerworld. The magazine awarded Varian the top prize
for information systems in manufacturing in its 2007 Computer-
world Honors Program.
Discussion Questions
1.
What role does software play in the SmartBeam IMRT medical
system?
2.
Why couldn't Varian produce the SmartBeam IMRT before it did?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
What additional safeguards must be programmed into the
software that runs the SmartBeam IMRT that aren't necessary
in typical PC software?
2.
How do you think the development of the SmartBeam IMRT
launched Varian to the top of the market in cancer treatment
systems?
SOURCES:
Pratt, Mary K., “Software Helps Target Radiation Treatment for
Cancer,” Computerworld, December 3, 2007,
www.computerworld.com/
ber=1.
Varian Medical Systems Web site,
www.varian.com,
accessed
February 3, 2007.
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