ALBA HYPERTHERMIA SYSTEM ON 4000D
ALBA is a compact integrated technology system for oncological treatments characterized by the possibility to choose from a broad range of external efficient applicators, all of which are supplied with cooling water bags.
Minimally invasive temperature sensors and ultrasound black and white or color Doppler scanner units allow clinicians to perform quick and high-quality treatments to different kinds of tumours.
Made of the most advanced technology, the technical assistance on the ALBA may be easily carried out remotely, and the machine itself may be easily moved from one department to another of the medical center.
The reliability of ALBA Hyperthermia System is provided by its continuous development and improvement throughout the last 15 years and more than 400,000 hours of work per year.
Certified by the TUV RHEINLAND, ALBA Hyperthermia System at 434 MHz? has been designed and developed to be sold mainly in the region 1 according to the ITU-R in 5.138, 5.150, and 5.280 of the Radio Regulations of the ISM Bands.
The ALBA ON 4000D is a radiative hyperthermia system working at a fixed frequency of 434MHz. The unit is equipped with radiative technology curved microstrip applicators with an integrated water bolus to safely and effectively heat targets, in the range of 41-43°c, for 60 minutes, as required by the ESHO (European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology) guidelines.
Effective power deposition
The multiple radiative microstrip applicators of ALBA ON 4000D are curved at a fixed radius and are perfectly tuned at 434MHz. The high efficiency and homogeneity (no hot-spots) allow hyperthermia treatments at a depth of up to 40 mm +/- 5 mm as demonstrated both in phantoms (10,11) and in patients (12,13).
Radiative vs cacitive
ALBA Radiative curved applicators guarantee a very favorable SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) both on muscle and heterogeneous tissue targets and a very low power density in fat tissue. This uniqueness results in more favorable SAR and temperature distribution for superficial tumor locations, compared to Capacitive Electro-Hyperthermia electrodes characterized by a power absorption in the poorly perfused fat tissue much higher than in muscle tissue, which produces lower target temperatures with the risk of overheating heterogeneous normal tissue.
- Head and Neck tumors
- Breast tumors
- Melanoma
- Soft tuissue sarcoma
- Chest wall recurrences
- Cutaneous lymphoma
Dosimetry
An embedded multichannel thermometer detects real time temperature readings in up to 32 sensors positioned on the patient skin or in the target volumes. Totally immune to radiofrequency interference, the ALBA ON 4000D thermometer guarantees very fast detection of the temperature sensors at the remarkable precision of +/- 0.2°C.
The pre-treatment picture of the target area with the points of interest where temperature sensors have been positioned is downloaded onto the ALBA ON 4000D Treatment SW to show in real time the temperature reached on the specific target.
Temperature readings recorded throughout the treatment are stored in the database for post processing data analysis.
Ergonomy
ALBA ON 4000D is user-friendly, intuitive and easy to install in any outpatient room. It is mounted on wheels which allow the operator to move the unit according to the need. The mechanic structure and its ergonomy makes it easier for the operator to interact with the patient for the treatment of different anatomic sites.
The modular ALBA ON 4000D platform allows for the simultaneous use of two applicators, also of different sizes if necessary, on the same patient to treat larger lesions on a chest wall recurrence.
A single external PC console synchronizes the use of two ALBA ON 4000D systems treating different locations on a patient with an independent control of power and water temperature for each applicator/lesion.
ALBA ON 4000D is supplied with specific tools which display the EFS (Effective Field Size) in 2D and the E-Field direction of each applicator. These tools allow both a correct selection of the best applicator with respect to the lesion geometry and the perfect alignment of the max SAR of the applicator with the central axis of the lesion.
As an option ALBA ON 4000D can be connected to an external ultrasound scanner useful also to position applicator and temperature sensors on the target
Temperature accuracy and efficient SAR deposition are key elements to be controlled during the lifetime of the ALBA ON 4000D. Quality assessment, according to ESHO guidelines (15), can be performed using a specific kit to calibrate all temperature sensors and a dedicated anatomic phantom (muscle type) for ALBA applicator 3D SAR evaluation.
ALBA ON 4000D can be provided with a hyperthermia treatment planning software PLAN2HEAT in continuous development in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC (Amsterdam University Medical Center). The goal is to find the optimal setting to maximize the power deposition in the target area while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue. PLAN2HEAT is able to calculate the power absorption, the consequent temperature distribution and the optimized setting in a 3D patient-specific anatomy model generated from patient CT/MRI images
CT scan of patient target
Dielectric tissue type property assignment according to automatic Hounsfield unit recognition
Temperature simulation performed by Plan2Heat
An example of a 3D temperature simulation of Plan2Heat based on a patient specific 3D CT Scan image and a 3D ALBA Applicator SAR simulation
ALBA data management system
The ALBA ON 4000D Data Management System offers an integrated data management solution which allows to import patient data as DICOM Worklist and export treatment reports in PDF to Hospital Information System (HIS). Treatment of raw-data is stored in standard xml files. This allows for post-processing and simplifies data sharing which is useful for data analysis within clinical trials.
Integration with Radiotherapy PACS system
The ALBA ON 4000D software is designed to be fully integrated with the radiotherapy PACS systems in order to introduce hyperthermia more easily into the radiotherapy workflow from treatment planning to the treatment itself.
ALBA Hyperthermia System ON4000 General presentation
ALBA Hyperthermia System ON4000 93/42/EEC Directive Certification ( IT / EN )
ALBA Hyperthermia System ON4000 ISO 13485 Certificate