Sectors · Radiotherapy and oncology centres

Radiotherapy centres that treat more patients with the same machines and experts.

We connect the systems around your treatment planning system and build the software that is still missing. Scheduling and booking across machines, staff and planning steps keep the linacs and the team fully used, so more patients start treatment on the planned day. Images and plans move from the CT simulator to contouring, planning and the oncology information system without manual export and import. Auto contouring tools are tested on your own patients before you buy them. QA results are stored in one database instead of spreadsheets.

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Systems: Simulator · contouring · planning · OIS
Standards: DICOM RT · HL7 v2 · AAPM TG-263
First step: Free call with our management

The patient path

A patient's path from simulation to treatment.

Referral

The physician decides the treatment intent, and staff book the patient for the planning CT scan (simulation).

ImprovementThe order sends the patient and the requested procedure to the simulator worklist, so nothing is typed twice.

Simulation

The planning CT is acquired, and staff send the images on to contouring and planning.

ImprovementImages are routed to contouring and planning automatically, without manual export.

Contouring

The physician draws organs at risk and targets slice by slice. This takes hours per patient, and the planning slot waits.

ImprovementA tested auto contouring tool prepares the contours, and the physician checks and corrects them.

Planning

The physicist builds the plan, and evaluation scripts check dose and structures. The scripts break when structure names differ between plans.

ImprovementStructure names follow one template, so the evaluation scripts read every plan.

Approval and scheduling

The plan is approved and the oncology information system schedules the fractions. Data moves between systems by export and import.

ImprovementScheduling plans fractions across beam matched machines and staff, so free linac slots are filled and no data is missing at the console.

Treatment

The machine delivers the fractions, and staff copy QA results into spreadsheets by hand.

ImprovementQA results go into one database, with trends per machine and reports for the physicist.

Follow up and research

Outcomes and plans are reviewed, and research asks for data that must be pseudonymised first.

ImprovementImages, structures and dose are pseudonymised before they leave the department, ready for research.

The goal

Treatment starts on the planned day, with the data in place.

For the centre

More patients treated on the same machines, with fewer empty linac slots
Planning slots used without waiting for contours
Auto contouring tools tested on your own patients before you buy

For physicians and physicists

Less time drawing and correcting contours
The same name for each structure in every plan
QA results in one database, with trends per machine

For patients

A short wait between simulation and the first treatment
Fewer treatment slots lost to missing data
Contours checked by the physician before planning starts

Problems and solutions

What we hear, and what we do about it.

An auto contouring tool that works on the vendor's patients may not work on ours.

We take a set of your earlier planning CTs with contours your physicians approved and compare the tool structure by structure, with an overlap measure such as the Dice coefficient and a surface distance. We also record how long a physician needs to correct the contours, since that time decides the business case. Your physicians and physicists agree the acceptance criteria before the first case is run.

Clinical AI selection and integration

The person who evaluates the tool may have worked for a vendor on the shortlist.

Silurus Software does not sell or resell any planning system, oncology information system or contouring product. If we have worked for the maker of a product under evaluation, we tell you in writing before the evaluation starts.

Clinical AI selection and integration

Structure names differ between physicians and between systems.

We map the names each physician and each system uses to one template, for example the AAPM TG-263 nomenclature, before any script reads the plans. Software then reads and checks structure sets, plans and dose. Automatic contours come back as a DICOM RT Structure Set (the DICOM object that holds the outlined organs and target volumes) with your names. The mapping is tested for every structure in the template, left and right sides included, and software that changes data used for treatment is assessed against the EU MDR, including the in house exemption of Article 5(5).

Medical imaging software

Data moves between simulator, planning and the oncology information system by export and import.

We specify the DICOM RT data flows between the systems and build them. We test them, including what happens when an object is missing or renamed, and give your IT team written instructions for the day a link goes down.

Interoperability

Patient specific QA results live in spreadsheets.

We collect the measurements from the QA devices and the plan checks in one database. The physicist sees trends per machine and gets the reports from there.

Digitalisation and workflow automation

Research wants our plans, and the data protection officer says no.

Images, structures and dose are pseudonymised before they leave the department, with the references between CT, structures, plan and dose kept consistent. We prepare the data protection impact assessment together with your data protection officer.

Interoperability

Systems

The radiotherapy systems, and the standard at each link.

System	What it holds	Interface	Our work
CT simulator and PACS	Planning CT, patient and requested procedure	DICOM CT · modality worklist	We send the patient and the requested procedure from the order to the simulator worklist, and route the images to contouring and planning.
Contouring and auto contouring	Structure sets	DICOM RT Structure Set · DICOM SEG	Automatic contours come back with the names from your template, and the physician reviews them before planning.
Treatment planning system	Plans and dose	DICOM RT Plan · RT Dose	Evaluation scripts and independent checks read the plan and dose objects.
Oncology information system	Approval, prescription, schedule	DICOM RT · HL7 v2	Approval status, prescription and treatment schedule are exchanged with the hospital systems.
Treatment machine	Treatment records, verification images	DICOM RT Image · RT Beams Treatment Record	Treatment records and verification images are collected for review.
QA devices and physics database	Machine and patient specific QA	Vendor exports · DICOM RT	QA results are stored in one place, with trends and reports for the physicist.

Fit

When we are the right partner.

Call us when

You want treatment to start sooner after simulation, without waiting for contours
You want to know whether an auto contouring tool works on your own patients before you buy it
You want data to move between simulator, planning and the oncology information system without manual steps
You want QA results and plan checks in one place instead of spreadsheets

Talk to us

Tell us what you would like to improve.

Contouring, structure names, QA records or the data flow between two systems. Write a few lines, or book a free call with our management.

Book a call with our management

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Can you evaluate an auto contouring tool on our own patients?

Yes. We use a set of your earlier planning CTs with contours your physicians approved, measure overlap and surface distance for each structure, and record how long your physicians need to correct the contours. Your physicians and physicists agree the acceptance criteria in advance.

Do you work for the vendors of the products you evaluate?

Silurus Software does not resell any product. If we have worked for the maker of a product under evaluation, we tell you in writing before the evaluation starts.

Can automatic contours come back into our planning system with our structure names?

Yes. They come back as a DICOM RT Structure Set, with the names mapped to your template, for example the AAPM TG-263 nomenclature.

Who is responsible under the EU AI Act when we use an AI contouring tool?

The manufacturer carries the product duties. An auto contouring product is a medical device, and in MDR Class IIa or above it is a high risk AI system. Your centre carries the deployer duties of Article 26, which are human oversight, keeping the logs, monitoring the tool and informing staff. We help you set these up as an AI register, a policy and a monitoring routine.

Do we have to replace our planning system or oncology information system?

No. We connect tools to the systems you run over DICOM RT and HL7 v2. When you replace a system, we write the requirements and a scoring matrix, and compare the vendors without favouring any of them.

How can research use our plans without breaking data protection rules?

Images, structures and dose are pseudonymised before they leave the department. They stay in the EU and are covered by a data processing agreement, with Silurus Software as processor. We prepare the data protection impact assessment with your data protection officer. In the US, the same work runs under HIPAA and a business associate agreement.

What does a first project cost, and how fast can it start?

The first call is free. Each step after it is quoted individually, with scope, deliverable, duration and price agreed in writing. We reply within one business day, and a project can start within two to three weeks of signature.

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