VORTHEx

In France, the number of new cancer cases per year is now around 400,000 (and about 18M worldwide). The therapeutic options to treat them include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. About 60% of patients will need radiotherapy. Like other treatment techniques, radiotherapy has made considerable progress. Modern equipment allows high doses to be delivered with millimetre precision in order to be more effective on tumors and preserve organs at risk.

A radiotherapy treatment room with a robot is an impressive and often stressful place for a patient weakened by the disease and who is going to undergo an episode of treatment – especially if it’s their first. So education for patients is particularly important. There is always a gap between the explanations given by the center's professionals and the reality experienced by a patient lying on a treatment table, alone in the room, with a machine rotating or moving around him or her.

The innovation we offer is to allow patients, initially for those treated with one of the new Cyberknife robots from Accuray installed at the center, to live the treatment experience and to better understand it through a virtual experience. This virtual experience reconstructs in 3D all the technical and protocol components of the treatment: the room, the Cyberknife robot arm, the patient's position, the modalities and the steps of the sessions. This virtual experience is accompanied by a member of the care team. This person will make the patient live the experience and will answer all the questions related to the situation.

The effects of the VR educational experience will be evaluated within the framework of a study protocol established jointly by the Hartmann Institute of Radiotherapy and Dassault Systèmes.

The VORTHEx project supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) by guiding patients through their treatment, improving their comfort, reducing apprehension, and enhancing their understanding to increase the chances of successful outcomes.

The Hartmann Radiotherapy Institute sought the expertise of Dassault Systèmes to develop innovative treatment preparation tools using virtual simulation technologies.

3DEXPERIENCE Lab was able to quickly translate our medical processes into immersive 3D scenarios within the framework of a fluid cooperation. 3DEXPERIENCE Lab's technological expertise in virtual reality equipment and immersive uses was put to use in a care project focused on the patient's well-being. The 3DEXCITE solutions allow the creation of immersive experiences directly on the engineering data, creating the scenario and the behaviors based on the protocol defined in the real world. Thus the digital continuity ensures the accuracy of the digital twin not only of the robot but of the treatment space. Clinical tests measuring the effects and performance of this simulation in the patient's pathway will be performed on the Medidata clinical trial platform.

Accompanying the patient in his disease plays a crucial role in his fight against the disease. Understanding, apprehending, accepting and finally rebuilding each other play important roles in treatment.  That is why the Hartmann Institute is fighting alongside the Rafael Institute to provide the best possible support to their patients. When the former helps to understand and accept the treatment, the latter helps the patient to rebuild gradually and accompanies him or her in the return to “normal” life. Patients need to consider medicine with a global approach.