NEW YORK, NY—Columbia University's imaging software that facilitates 3-D lung tumor segmentation, licensed to Varian Medical Systems, has been incorporated into the Smart Segmentation® module of Varian's Eclipse™ treatment planning system and has received FDA 510k clearance.
Three-D segmentation of CT and MR images provides a reliable way to identify various organs and tumors within anatomical images, such as the brain, lymph node, lung, liver, spleen, and kidneys. Determining organ and tumor contours and volumes (including those of primary and metastatic tumors) before, during, and after treatment can be challenging. Accurate and efficient segmentation and characterization of these diverse structures is necessary to enable noninvasive assessments in clinical practice as well as in radiation treatment planning.
"Our organ- and tumor-specific segmentation programs have been developed in response to the growing demand for quantitative imaging techniques and extensively field tested for clinical purposes, with very promising and encouraging results. They can be readily integrated into routine clinical workflow. We are pleased that Varian Medical Systems has used these programs as part of its product and has received regulatory clearance from the FDA, as this will pave the way for broader, global access to tumor segmentation software," said Lawrence Schwartz, MD, the James Picker Professor of Radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center.
"Working closely with physicians, we developed our advanced computer algorithms with the aim of improving accuracy and efficiency in cancer diagnosis, treatment planning, and response assessment. We are pleased to note an increasing demand for licenses to our proprietary software," said Binsheng Zhao, DSc, professor of radiology and director of the Computational Image Analysis Laboratory. "In the Lab, we continue to innovate and have developed new advanced methodologies to address these various imaging needs."
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Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
The Computational Image Analysis Laboratory has led to key innovations in algorithm development to address the demand for superior, automated, quantitative image assessments. Please visit the website for more information about specific technologies developed by the Lab.
Columbia University's technology transfer office, Columbia Technology Ventures, manages Columbia's intellectual property portfolio and serves as the university's gateway for companies and entrepreneurs seeking novel technology solutions. Our core mission is to facilitate the transfer of inventions from academic research to outside organizations for the benefit of society on a local, national and global basis.