Clear visualization – with Ultrasound

Ultrasound plays an important role in the localization and guidance of needle and wire placements prior to surgery as well as sentinel node injections, ductography, and balloon catheter placement for partial breast irradiation. Excellent visualization of the needle is achieved utilizing 2D beam steering to position the beam perpendicularly to the needle shaft. High frequency transducer technologies along with Advanced SieClear™ spatial compounding deliver high-resolution images providing visualization of the smallest structures.

High-frequency imaging technology improves image detail and overall resolution, providing unprecedented clarity in visualizing intricate breast anatomy and complex lesions. In addition, Advanced SieClear spatial compounding improves contrast resolution and border detection.
­­High-frequency ­­Imaging­­

2D beam steering allows the user to position the beam perpendicular to the needle shaft for excellent visualization of the needle during biopsy procedures.
2D beam steering

Effective radiation therapy – with Oncology Care Solutions

When therapy begins, it is important to be able to choose the appropriate radiation therapy technique, easily adapt to anatomical changes and patient movements, and deliver treatments according to each patient’s needs.

Our scalable ARTISTE™ Solution provides a comprehensive selection of image-guided and advanced treatment delivery tools for infinite flexibility and complete confidence. What’s more, the ARTISTE Solution’s Adaptive Targeting™ evaluation software offers the highest system precision: it determines the exact patient position and necessary adaptations by localizing the tumor and displaying it in 3D.
Thanks to the high-resolution 160 MLC™ Multileaf Collimator, you can deliver a very accurate radiation therapy: The collimator precisely conforms to the shape of the tumor and optimizes dosage to te target volume while minimizing dosage to the healthy surrounding tissue.
ARTISTE Solution

In addition, our software application syngo Suite for Oncology offers comprehensive and role-based workflow solutions for each member of the clinical oncology team by enabling fully-automated sharing, reviewing, and acquisition of data and images. syngo Suite for Oncology applications allow enhanced communication for a streamlined workflow, help reduce training costs thanks to an intuitive user interface; and enable higher productivity, greater confidence, and improved patient care.
syngo Suite for Oncology

“With ARTISTE, you are able to set up the beam so that the heart and lungs are not in the radiation field. An advantage of ARTISTE is that it images in the axis of the beam, not perpendicular to the beam. The image quality is much better. This has really changed physician quality control.”
Philippe Lambin, MD, Head of Department of Radiation Oncology, MAASTRO Clinic, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Valuable monitoring of tumor development – with Magnetic Resonance

Monitoring the development of tumors and lesions is very important during breast cancer therapy. A solution is required that provides full coverage of the breast and needed information - both anatomical and metabolic tissue information.

Our software solution syngo VIEWS can help provide ongoing anatomical and functional information about the lesion throughout the therapy process.
syngo VIEWS

Siemens' unique Tim (Total imaging matrix) technology delivers accelerated acquisition speed – while still providing the high spatial resolution.
Tim Technology

In addition, syngo GRACE, our solution for quantitative MR breast spectroscopy, can provide quantified metabolic tissue information by utilizing Choline as a biomarker. syngo GRACE provides essential information about the biochemical composition of breast lesions, and helps increase confidence in the assessment of therapy efficacy.
syngo GRACE

“syngo GRACE shows great promise as a way to aid to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions, and to gauge the effect of chemotherapeutic agents in patients with locally advanced breast cancer.”
Dr. Mitsuhiro Tozaki, Director of Breast Center, Kameda Medical Center, Chiba, Japan

Enhanced information with Tumor Markers

CEA, CA 15-3, BR 27.29 and Serum HER-2/neu are tumor markers that can help clinicians manage breast cancer. CEA, CA 15-3 and BR 27.29 may be used for Stage II through Stage IV breast cancer, while Serum HER-2/neu may be used with Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer. Preoperative levels may be taken to establish a baseline serum level. Subsequently, serum levels may be serially monitored – increasing levels may indicate progression, while decreasing levels may indicate response to treatment. Tumor markers should be used in conjunction with other clinical tools.

Each year 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer globally, and 25% of these cases are HER-2 positive. HER-2 positive breast cancer is an aggressive type of breast cancer that has been shown to be an indicator of poor prognosis, higher probability of recurrence and decreases overall survival. HER-2/neu is a biomarker for HER-2 positive breast cancer. Traditional HER-2/neu testing has been generally limited to tissue from primary breast cancer. It is used as a predictor of response to therapy but cannot monitor the real-time responses patients will go through during the clinical course of disease. The Siemens Serum HER-2/neu test is a simple blood test that can help manage the disease of metastatic breast cancer patients whose initial Serum HER-2/neu level is > 15 ng/mL.
www.siemens.com/herstory

“My first experiences with measuring Serum HER-2/neu for metastatic breast cancer showed that in many cases, after patients were given chemotherapy, if the treatment was working, serum levels would rapidly decrease in the first three to four weeks after treatment. We confirmed our serum readings with a CT scan.”
Jean-Pierre Lotz, MD, Chief Medical Oncologist, Université Pierre et Marie Curie’s Hôpital Tenon, Paris, France