Announcing SDX® Installation in The New York Proton Center
The New York Proton Center (NYPC) began using the SDX Respiratory Gating System in 2019, recognizing the challenges of treating tumors susceptible to movement due to respiration, such as those in the liver, lungs, pancreas, esophagus, breast, and upper abdomen. As Jonathan Weinbach, CEO, highlights, “The SDX breath hold technology enhances our clinical operations by supporting treatment of a wide range of tumor types with great accuracy and efficiency. It boosts our ability to focus a high dose of radiation into the tumor and little to none in surrounding healthy tissues, helping to reduce side effects and adding to patient satisfaction.”
The center has four treatment rooms – three gantries and one fixed-beam room. With a steady volume of approximately 100 patients per day and an expanding use of deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) for select cases, the SDX System got plenty of use in the first 4.5 years following installation. More than 50 patients were treated using SDX and DIBH during 2023. In 2024, SDX is being utilized for the treatment of an average of 5 patients per day at the NYPC.
The acquisition of the SDX system has allowed the center to advance their treatment plans. As Haibo Lin, Director of Medical Physics, reflects, “Purchasing the SDX Breath Hold System was an excellent decision for our Center. During breath hold, SDX helps immobilize the tumor, allowing our team to provide high quality and extremely precise treatment plans. Our patients find it simple and straightforward to use.”
SDX is used for initial CT-scans, CT verification scans, and proton treatment sessions on select patients with tumors whose position within the body fluctuates as a result of breathing motion. As SDX System utilization has increased at the NYPC, it was decided to purchase a third SDX unit and an additional gating module. This allows for overflow SDX treatments while allowing patient coaching sessions, initial scans, treatments, and verification scans to be performed simultaneously in 3 different locations.
Prior to the decision to acquire an additional SDX unit, heavy utilization meant that on occasion, one SDX needed to be returned to DYN’R for system maintenance. DYN’R provided a loaner system in these instances; eventually, the decision was reached that a third SDX unit was warranted. NYPC is pleased with the decision to increase SDX capacity, as now both imaging and treatment may continue uninterrupted without the need for shuffling the trolley between rooms.
