Baton Rouge General First & Only in the U.S. with Next-Generation Cancer Treatment

Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center has recently acquired the most advanced cancer-fighting technology and is the first and only U.S. site to have this radiation therapy equipment. Developed by Siemens Healthcare, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, ARTISTE™ is an integrated and comprehensive imaging, treatment and workflow solution engineered specifically for Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART).  The goal of ART is to ensure therapeutic dose is delivered precisely to the targeted tumor and that healthy tissue is spared.  With its ability to make changes in real-time during the delivery of the radiation therapy, ARTISTE is constructed to deliver high-precision radiotherapy, escalating the dose to the tumor while sparing out healthy tissue.

About Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center

With 544 beds and two locations, Baton Rouge General is the region’s only full service, not-for-profit, community-owned hospital.  As the oldest hospital in the area, the General’s dedication to its community is long standing and prides itself in its continuous commitment to deliver high quality medical care with warmth and compassion.

Pennington Cancer Center has a rich history of bringing advanced cancer treatment solutions to South Louisiana through its comprehensive, multidisciplinary cancer program which includes inpatient, outpatient, surgical and medical oncology services; radiation treatment; and cancer research programs. 

In 2006, the Pennington family endowed Baton Rouge General’s cancer center, further expanding and increasing access to high quality cancer treatment for the people of this region. 

"Patient anatomy, tumor size and shape change during the course of treatment, often making it difficult to maximize dosage to target tissue while sparing healthy tissue," said Holger Schmidt, President of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Oncology Care Systems. "ARTISTE provides fast and powerful imaging to help monitor daily changes and enables precise radiation treatment delivery, giving physicians the flexibility and assurance they need to deliver optimal care."

This new, trend-setting radiation therapy technology offers clinicians multiple imaging modalities. From Megavoltage (MV) to gold-standard, in-room CT imaging, clinicians can select the optimal imaging application for their treatment approach. Siemens' Mvision™ Cone Beam Imaging Package delivers outstanding soft-tissue resolution, especially in challenging cases, such as imaging prostheses and with large patients.

“The amazing accuracy of ARTISTE will greatly improve our ability to fight tumors, decrease treatment times, and all in all, improve the quality of life for our patients.  That’s our real goal,” explained Dr. William Russell, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Pennington Cancer Center.

Siemens premiered its ARTISTE prototype in 2004 and in January 2008, the technology received FDA premarket clearance for use in the United States.  Prior to now, four other ARTISTE have been deployed throughout Europe in the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Poland.

“We’re proud to be Siemens’ partner in introducing ARTISTE to the U.S.  For the first time, state-of-the-art cancer technology is premiering in a community hospital – not in a large academic hospital,” said Zack Smith, Director of Pennington Cancer Center. “This approach really affects access to advanced cancer treatment, especially since 85% of cancer patients are treated at community hospitals like ours.  This technology saves lives.  And we’re setting the stage for advanced technologies like ARTISTE to be placed in community cancer centers where people need it the most.”

Pennington Cancer Center is currently working with Siemens to install ARTISTE and expects to begin treating patients on it as early as this March.  As the first U.S. site, Pennington Cancer Center will host cancer centers from across the country interested in previewing, purchasing, and learning more about deploying ARTISTE.

“Because of our work with Siemens, we’ll affect the lives of those right here in our community, as well as people across the country,” said Bill Holman, President and CEO of Baton Rouge General.  “It will no doubt put Baton Rouge on the map for cancer technology. And it’s advancements like this that will bring leading physicians and specialists to Baton Rouge – something we will all benefit from.”

 
Bluebonnet location: 8585 Picardy Avenue  •  Mid City location: 3600 Florida Boulevard  •  (225) 387-7000