Today, there are many medical devices and management systems in the medical field that facilitate the lives of patients.
Almost all medical technologies play an active role in diagnosis, disease prognosis, treatment, and care processes. Many of them are also referred to as advanced health technologies. In the rest of this article, Pyxis, Single Dose Therapy (Intraoperative Radiotherapy) and VitalBeam will be examined.
Pyxis MedStation is a drug delivery system used in the healthcare industry. This system is designed to ensure that patients receive medication accurately and safely in hospitals and healthcare organizations. This system is a technology developed to help with automatic drug distribution, stock tracking, and patient safety.
The main function of the system is to ensure that medicines are delivered to patients at the right doses and at the right time. This improves patient safety by minimizing erroneous drug dispensing. Pyxis allows healthcare professionals to track the availability of medicines, frequency of use, and other important information. Thus, situations such as shortages or excesses of medicines can be prevented.
Such automated medication dispensing systems can improve efficiency in healthcare, helping to utilize staff time more effectively. It is also considered a measure to maximize the safety of patients by reducing medication errors. Systems like Pyxis MedStation are widely used in modern healthcare organizations to optimize medication management processes.
Pyxis medication management system has many advantages. The most important benefits are listed below:
Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) is a radiotherapy method applied during surgical intervention during cancer treatment. This method aims to neutralize cancer cells by applying an intense dose of radiation to the tumor site during surgery. Intraoperative radiotherapy has the advantage of delivering radiation more precisely to the tissues surrounding the tumor, usually during surgery.
This treatment method targets cancer cells during surgery by applying a focused dose of radiation to the cancerous cells. This minimizes the amount of radiation to surrounding healthy tissues. Intraoperative radiotherapy can be particularly effective in cases where there is direct contact with the tumor during surgery.
This treatment method is commonly used to treat breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and some tumors in the head and neck region. Because IORT is administered immediately after surgery, it maximizes interaction with the tumor within the surgical field.
Intraoperative radiotherapy can be used as an alternative to, or in combination with, conventional external beam radiotherapy. However, as each patient's situation is different, the treatment plan and its implementation are determined by a multidisciplinary healthcare team. Factors such as the patient's general health, tumor characteristics, and the extent of cancer spread affect the feasibility of this treatment option.
VitalBeam is a radiotherapy device developed by Varian Medical Systems. Utilizing the patented technology of the TrueBeam platform, VitalBeam can be configured with 3 photon and 6 electron energies. This allows for a wide range of patient treatment possibilities. VitalBeam can be used to treat various types of cancer, including:
With VitalBeam, high doses of the beams can be used, which can be more effective in killing cancer cells. It is also more precise, which means less damage to healthy tissue. It is faster, which makes the treatment process shorter.
VitalBeam can tailor the dose according to the individual needs of the patient. This helps to maximize the tumor dose and minimize the healthy tissue dose. It can also adjust the patient's position quickly and accurately. This makes the treatment process more efficient. The device can also display the patient's shape and position during treatment in real-time. This increases the accuracy of the treatment.
Before starting the patient's treatment, it can display the shape and position of the tumor and surrounding healthy tissues in real-time. This helps to plan the treatment more accurately. It can also track movements during treatment and adapt the beams accordingly. This is particularly useful in the treatment of mobile tumors. It can also monitor the patient's response to treatment in real-time. This helps to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment and make adjustments when necessary.
The cost of VitalBeam varies depending on the make, model, and features of the device. In general, modern radiotherapy devices such as VitalBeam are slightly more expensive than conventional radiotherapy devices.
The duration of IORT varies depending on the type of cancer and the specific treatment plan. The procedure is usually performed immediately after surgery, after tumor removal, or after surgical intervention.
The appropriateness of IORT depends on several factors such as the type of cancer, its stage, the patient's general health, and the surgical scenario. Each case is evaluated by a multidisciplinary healthcare team to determine its suitability.
