SCIENCE

The Methodist Hospital in Houston has taken a significant new step in radiation therapy and surgical planning at the facility's world renowned Plato's CAVE (Computerized Augmented Visual Environment). New PhyZiodynamics from Ziosoft, Inc., a pioneer and leader in supercomputing functional analytics, will be used to produce true-fidelity, highly accurate 3D and 4D images based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brain, lungs and other organs.

"The images produced by applying PhyZiodynamics technology to multiple modality scans are both breathtaking and accurate," said E. Brian Butler, MD, chairman of radiation oncology at Methodist and founder of Plato's Cave. "The ability to produce 3D images with such high fidelity motion coherence will enable us to obtain reliable 4D motion analysis data for planning advanced surgical and therapeutic patient outcomes. The next logical step is to develop reproducible, functional analysis of this motion, through the blending of multiple image parameters yielding, hopefully, even greater diagnostic value."

Plato's CAVE at Methodist allows physicians to see a fully dimensional look into a patient's internal anatomy and visualize, in multiple dimensions, a treatment plan for surgery or other treatment.

"It is obvious why Methodist is so highly respected and an award winning healthcare facility," said Rob Royea, president and COO for Ziosoft. "The level of patient care supported by revolutionary technology reflects the unsurpassed commitment this outstanding group of professionals has to providing the best in medical treatment. We are honored to be a part of the team."

One particular area of interest to Butler and his radiation therapy treatment team is the ability to refine a treatment plan and to interactively guide and, if necessary, deform the radiation dose for tumors to avoid compromising functional pathways within the brain accounting for each individual patient's unique anatomical structure. It is essential to avoid radiation exposure to particular areas of the brain, such as the ocular nerve or speech areas. Precise imaging and functional analytics regarding proximity to these critical areas would provide major benefits to patient care for radiation oncologists.

"We have been successful in creating very detailed 3D brain atlases and physician workflow templates, but really needed something with an increasing level of detail and flexibility based on evolving state-of-the-art imaging acquisition protocols and resultant increasing amounts of data within a patient's medical imaging scan," said Paul E. Sovelius, co-founder and architect of Plato's CAVE technology and scientific visualization expert at Methodist."PhyZiodynamics technology provides greater accuracy and crystal clear 3D clinical visualization with true three dimensional volumetric data PhyZiodynamics technology may allow potential breakthrough diagnostics enabled by real time deformable registration of multi-modality image data.

PhyZiodynamic solutions provide cutting-edge algorithms for functional imaging analysis in multiple dimensions. Ziosoft's open standard software technology utilizes lossless image data which ensures the true fidelity of all data at all times for any DICOM imaging modality. This has resulted in precise image quality, optimized user efficiency, potential for significant dose reduction and maximum cost effectiveness for an extensive range of clinical applications.