Elekta Acquires Philips' Pinnacle Treatment Planning System Patent Portfolio to Accelerate Radiotherapy Innovation

May 08, 2024 00:00 CST Updated 00:01

GE Healthcare

Digital Solution Provider

On May 3, 2024, an international company focused on providing radiotherapy solutionsElekta(EKTA-B.ST) announced the acquisition of Philips Healthcare (NYSE:PHG)'sPinnacle Treatment Planning System (TPS) Patent Portfolio。

# Buy Out Philips Patents! Elekta Accelerates Innovation in Radiation Therapy

As early as June 2021, Elekta and Philips announced a long-term strategic partnership to advance comprehensive and personalized cancer care through precision oncology solutions (from CT and MR simulation to treatment planning, preparation, and implementation).

It is reported that the aim of this acquisition by both parties is to jointly promote the optimization and innovation of radiotherapy planning and workflow.For existing PhilipsPinnacle³ Provide users with a first-class seamless transition solution to Elekta ONE Planning。

By integrating the advanced technologies covered by the acquired patent portfolios, Elekta and Philips are jointly bringing new possibilities to the field of radiation therapy. Their shared goal is to provide users with an efficient, precise, and user-friendly radiation therapy planning system to better meet the needs of medical professionals and patients.

To ensure a smooth transition for existing Pinnacle users to Elekta ONE Planning, Elekta will provide top-tier data conversion services. This service will be introduced at the upcomingPresented at the ESTRO Annual Meeting of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology in 2024, providing users with an intuitive and easy-to-use solution to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the data.

In fact, this is not the first time Elekta has acquired a major medical product. In the past six months, Elekta has been making frequent moves:

On October 23, 2023, Elekta announced the acquisition of the Xoft business from iCAD, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICAD), a developer of cancer detection and treatment solutions. Following the successful acquisition, Elekta will provide electronic brachytherapy technology as well as a broader range of cancer treatment options.Related Reading:$40 Million Acquisition! Elekta Expands Brachytherapy Market）
On April 22, 2024, GE HealthCare (NASDAQ: GEHC) announced that it would further deepen its partnership with Elekta to collaborate more in the field of radiation oncology software.It is reported that the collaboration between the two companies aims to enhance workflow, increase surgical volume, and optimize user experience through software innovation, while also expecting to achieve higher precision in radiotherapy and reduce patients' hospital stay time.Related Reading:Just Now! Two Giants Join Hands Again）

# Philips Pinnacle³ System,Performance Benchmark for Integrated Multimodal Radiotherapy Planning

Fast, accurate, and interactive treatment planning tools have made Philips Pinnacle³ The system has become a standout radiation therapy planning system in terms of performance and reliability.

Pinnacle³ SystemIntegrates photon, proton, electron, stereotactic, brachytherapy, simulation, image fusion, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) functions, and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) functions with the SmartArc module, allowing operators to design various treatment plans on the same platform.

Product Features:

1. Clear Imaging:Providing clear volume rendering imaging,Users can visualize the patient's anatomical structure based on the 3D voxel information provided by the 3D dataset.

2. Precise Calculation:The CCCS algorithm was adopted to calculate the three-dimensional dose. Using Pinnacle³ Adaptive Convolution Superposition, a prostate plan with four irradiation fields can be completed within a few minutes.

3. Real-time modification:The evaluation tool allows users to interactively adjust prescription plans and beam weights. The effects of changes on 2D and 3D dose displays and dose-volume histograms can be seen instantly.

4. Time-saving and labor-saving:The planning interface is both time-saving and simplifies workflow.The script editing tool can record and replay all important steps during the planning process.

5. Reduce Errors:Integrate multimodal imaging into the localization and planning process. Reduce potential errors from manual transformations without fusion, determine the range of tumor motion, and delineate functional areas to be avoided during radiation therapy.

The current software update version is as follows:

Supporting hardware includes:

# Elekta ONE: Unified Software Experience, Enabling Doctors to Focus on Patient Care

The independent, closed systems on the market each have different design purposes, user experiences, and learning curves, requiring users to constantly learn and get used to the methods, which can cause pressure on users.

AndElekta ONE provides a unified software experience, helping users keep up with rapidly evolving technologies, saving time, improving efficiency, and enabling doctors to focus more on patients.

Purpose of Product Design:

1. Dedicated Care:Provide a seamless user experience, reducing the time doctors spend on data collection and repetitive tasks.Allow doctors to focus more on patients and access relevant data on any device.

2. Adjust Treatment Strategy:Building on proven solutions, cutting-edge innovations are introduced to make personalized treatment simpler than ever. Intuitive, data-driven solutions enable doctors to quickly make patient-centered and outcome-oriented decisions.

3. Looking to the Future:Cancer care is complex and constantly evolving. We design future-oriented solutions to keep you ahead.

# Executive Evaluation

Maurits Wolleswinkel, President of Elekta Linear Accelerators and Software Solutions, stated:

"Thanks to years of continuous investment, Elekta ONE Planning has become one of the most competitive solutions on the market. At ESTRO, we will unveil exciting new features, including innovative scripting elements inspired by Pinnacle, showcasing Elekta ONE's competitive advantage."

Martijn Hartjes, Head of Philips Clinical Informatics, added: "We are delighted to continue providing our customers with leading radiation oncology solutions. This is the next step in the long-standing and strong collaboration between Philips and Elekta in the field of radiotherapy, working together to improve cancer care."

# AboutElekta

Elekta, founded in 1972 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, was established by Professor Lars Leksell, the inventor of the world's first Gamma Knife. As a global pioneer in precision radiation therapy, Elekta is widely recognized as the industry leader in radiotherapy technology. In China's top 50 hospitals, Elekta holds over 50% of the market share for radiotherapy equipment.

After nearly half a century of development, Elekta has become a global leading international supplier of radiotherapy solutions, with operations spanning more than 120 countries and regions. Its advanced technologies and innovative solutions are applied in over 6,000 medical institutions worldwide, providing diagnostic and treatment services to more than 100,000 patients every day.

2024 Global MedTech List：Call for Entries: Awards Recruitment

2023 Global MedTech Industry Contribution Award

2023 Global Medical Technology Innovation Award

2023 Global Medical Technical Innovation Award

Overseas award-winning companies (15):

Chinese Winning Enterprises (15):

2023 Global MedTech Pioneer Award

2023 Global MedTech Rising Star Award

Overseas Award-Winning Enterprises (15):

Chinese Winning Enterprises (10):

2023 Global Innovation Medical Device Award

Global Medical Technology Industry Map: International Leaders

Cardiovascular:Medtronic｜Johnson & Johnson MedTech｜BD Medical｜Boston Scientific｜Edwards Lifesciences｜Abbott｜Orthopedics:Medtronic｜Johnson & Johnson MedTech｜Stryker｜Smith & Nephew S&N｜Zimmer Biomet Ophthalmology:ESSILOR｜Alcon｜Carl Zeiss Medical |Topcon｜Cooper Medical Image:Siemens Healthineers｜Philips Medical｜GE Healthcare｜Olympus

Global Medical Technology Industry Map: Chinese Listed Companies

Global Medical Technology Industry Map: Industrial Clusters

Editor-in-Chief | Zhao Qing Reviewed by | Yi He