CMS' FocalSim Virtual CT Simulator Debuts at Gibbs Regional Cancer Center, Spartanburg, S.C. and Lynn Regional Cancer Center of Boca Raton, Fla.

Business & Health/Medical Editors

ST. LOUIS--(BW HealthWire)--May 30, 2002

Computerized Medical Systems, Inc. (CMS) along with Gibbs Regional Cancer Center and Lynn Regional Cancer Center, announce the first clinical use of FocalSim, the PC based virtual simulation software. The cancer centers demonstrated seamless integration of the CT, FocalSim, and their CMS' FOCUS treatment planning system.

CMS has had virtual simulation software available within the FOCUS treatment planning software for some time. FocalSim is a new modular, PC/Windows based product, which can work independently with the CT, yet provide the user seamless integration to their treatment planning system.

At the Gibbs Regional Cancer Center over fifty patients have been simulated using FocalSim. According to David Vassy, the medical physicist at the site, "CMS has a good understanding of what virtual simulation should be and they have done a great job with FocalSim. The product integrates beautifully with our Siemens CT and FOCUS treatment planning system, which we consider to be the key to making it all work." A long time CMS user, Mr. Vassy added, "CMS has shown real responsiveness in the evaluation process of FocalSim and has provided excellent support to our staff. Several new uses of FocalSim have been implemented already."

Charles Shang, Medical Physicist at Lynn Regional Cancer Center, stated that, "with our GE CT scanner and FocalSim, we have felt very comfortable doing our routine simulations without a traditional simulator. FocalSim enabled us to perform virtual fluoro just like we did with our simulator. The beam's eye-view function greatly enhanced the capability of CT Sim. Before we move patients down from the CT table, we are able to quickly identify and tattoo the treatment fields. Our physicians truly appreciate the incorporation of automated fusion within FocalSim. It not only helped us streamline our IMRT planning, but also increased the confidence in identifying treatment margins. I have to admit that FocalSim is a fine integrated RTP product, which ensures the practicality of our CT simulation and increases the efficiency of our treatment planning work."

Doug Sprague, CMS President and CEO said, "We have created a product keeping the patients and the end users in mind. Its Windows user interface, modular design and direct DICOM connection allows contouring, virtual simulation, multi-modality registration in any combination at any location. Our development team works closely with our customers to provide the necessary clinical tools that are needed for patient care. We are very pleased that Mr. Vassy and the staff at Gibbs Regional Cancer Center along with Mr. Shang and the staff at Lynn Regional Cancer Center have shared their technical, and clinical expertise to help implement FocalSim at their respective clinics."

The Marsha and Jimmy Gibbs Regional Cancer Center is a nationally recognized cancer treatment and research facility associated with the National Cancer Institute (one of 50 sites for a Community Clinical Oncology Program-CCOP), the Medical University of South Carolina and the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University. The Radiation Oncology department provides a complete spectrum of radiotherapy services to a five-county region in North and South Carolina. The professional staff consists of three radiation oncologists, and the clinical staff consists of two fulltime physicists, two dosimetrists, radiation therapists and oncology nurses. For more information, call 864/560-6917 or visit the website at www.gibbscancercenter.com.

Lynn Regional Cancer Center of Boca Raton Community Hospital has been a leader in cancer care in Palm Beach County since 1977. Their mission is to provide comprehensive cancer services to patients and their families through multidisciplinary cancer treatment, rehabilitation, access to clinical trials and community programs of education, prevention, screening and early diagnosis. They are accredited as a Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, ensuring that high standards for providing cancer care are met. They also serve as a research affiliate of the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information call 561/393-4111 or http://brch.accris.com/ds_lynn_regional_cancer_center.htm.

Computerized Medical Systems, Inc. manufactures, markets and supports FOCUS 3-D Treatment Planning Systems including FOCUS IMRT, Focal PC-based applications including FocalSim(TM), a PC based virtual simulation software, FocalEase(TM), a physician's desktop contouring package, FocalFusion(TM), a multimodality automated image fusion/registration tool, and FocalVue(TM), a desktop physician's review workstation application, as well as DynaScan, a Dosimetry system for beam data collection. Offices are located worldwide with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri and regional offices in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, Hong Kong, and a new European regional office in Freiburg, Germany. CMS is the worldwide market share leader in radiation treatment planning systems with over 1,000 FOCUS 3-D systems installed to date; more 3-D RTP installations than any competitor. Sale of FOCUS IMRT has surpassed 150 units. For further information on CMS, please visit the CMS Website at http://www.cms-stl.com or call CMS at 800/878-4267 or 314/993-0003.