Efficast® Masks Offers Gold Standard in Patient Immobilization for Radiation Therapy

JERICHO, N.Y. - 19 June 2008 – Orfit Industries America today announced the expansion of its North American operations to give hospital-based and freestanding cancer centers faster access to their high-precision patient immobilization systems which use Efficast® thermoplastic masks. The company, whose technology is used in 75 percent of European radiation therapy facilities, is rapidly expanding in North America to meet demand for its products. Radiation therapy clinicians and radiation therapists who wish to improve treatment outcomes and increase patient comfort are upgrading to the superior immobilization performance and ease of use of Efficast masks.

Efficast head, neck, and shoulder masks feature a unique, highly engineered thermoplastic anchored with multiple, independent fixation points. This design offers exceptional stability, reducing movement to a “gold standard” of less than 2 mm for improved treatment accuracy. The silky, non-stick material enhances patient comfort, ensures an excellent skin sparing effect, while providing a high-precision immobilization. The material’s thinness, combined with its ability to soften at lower temperatures, makes these masks easy to mold – and even re-mold in the event of a change in the contours of the patient’s anatomy.

“Orfit technology improves the delivery of radiation therapy across the board – for the patient, the radiation oncologist, the radiation therapist and the medical physicist,” said Martin Ratner, Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Orfit Industries America. “Unlike the generic type plastics used in traditional masks, our proprietary thermoplastic is formulated specifically for optimizing radiation therapy delivery. Efficast is easier to both apply and mold during the course of treatment. Efficast ensures the highest degree of stability and comfort. Cancer centers across the U.S. are changing to Efficast masks because they’re head and shoulders above the others.”

Efficast is already well established and the preferred immobilization material of choice in the majority of European radiation therapy centers and is quickly gaining ground in North America. Luminaries, clinics, and hospitals are employing the technology with great success, as therapists and clinicians have found the material to be easy to work with. Beyond the material, Orfit has licensed clinicians on staff to help facilities ensure maximum utilization of the equipment, properly train staff, help address patient immobilization challenges as they might arise, while communicating with Orfit’s research and development team.

Major advantages of Efficast masks include:

• Sub 2 mm precision: Efficast masks have been engineered to provide sub 2 mm precision and reproducibility of the immobilization while being thinner than other masks routinely used in radiation oncology departments. Thinner Efficast masks enables close contouring to the patients’ anatomy and an excellent skin sparing effect.

• Patient comfort: During molding, the material contracts uniformly to avoid pressure points. A special coating prevents the mask from adhering to the skin or hair.

• Lower-temperature molding: The pre-cut Efficast masks can be softened in warm water, avoiding discomfort to the therapist and the patient during the molding and setting process. On average Orfit masks can be molded in water 10 to 15ºF cooler than other materials. If needed, the entire mask or a portion can be reformed by warming, thus saving the cost of a new mask.

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