Compu•former® — Frequently Asked Questions

We've listed answers to some of our most common Compu•former® questions for your convenience.

Compu•former® is proven to help deliver uniform radiation dosage over an entire treatment area. It produces a mold used to create a compensator filter that provides radiation beam attenuation to “compensate” for inhomogeneity. A menu-driven program interfaces with treatment planning systems for quick, accurate beam compensation. Changes for reduction ratio and treatment geometry are programmed into the procedure. The beam compensator filter mold is cut from a foam block using a highly accurate CNC milling machine. Milling can be done remotely and at any time.

How is accuracy ensured with Compu•former®?

Compu•former® produces repeatable, accurate, and fast cuts for unmatched effectiveness. It utilizes a three-axis CNC milling machine to ensure milling accuracy of ± 1 mm. It also cuts offset registration holes in the block to ensure proper orientation of the compensator on a Lexan tray.

Does Compu•former® work with my treatment planning system?

Digitized files can be easily transferred from treatment planning systems. This eliminates hand digitizing, saving time and minimizing redundancy. The files from treatment planning systems are given a milling path and can be milled immediately or stored for later use. Compu•former® interfaces to common treatment planning systems including:

- CMS/Focus
- PTI/Electa
- ADAC
- Nucletron/PLATO
- HELAX
- Varian/CADPLAN
- Theratronics
- OSIRIS

Is Compu•former® easy to use?

Compu•former® combines treatment planning interfaces, Windows driven software and a precision CNC milling machine to offer an easy-to-use, high accuracy, cost-effective beam compensation system. Operators need little training to operate Compu•former® because its menu-driven software directs every step of data processing and milling. Milling can be performed on the CNC milling machine at any time or at another location freeing valuable treatment area space.

What type of compensating material is used with Compu•former®?

We recommend a medium-density compensating material comprised of a mixture of stainless steel powder and gypsum. It offers greater accuracy than low melt alloy because it eliminates potential voids in thin sections of the compensator. This compensating material is also easy to use because there is no melting, just mixing with water.

What size blocks are used with Compu•former®?

Precut foam blocks (10” x 10” x 2”) are used and can make a compensator up to about 22 cm. square.

How is the compensator mounted to a Lexan Tray?

Offset registration holes are cut when the foam is milled and are used for proper alignment of the compensator on a Lexan tray supplied with the system.

Metal-filled gypsum composite is mixed with water and used to fill the cavity of the cut foam block. This material is left in the foam block and the block is aligned on its registration holes underneath a Lexan tray, which can also have shielding blocks on its top surface. Lexan trays and mounting hardware can be produced for any treatment machine.

How are contours hand-digitized?

A magnetic field generator (approximate size is 1-1/2” cube) is mounted near the patient and creates a very weak magnetic field (approximately 2.5 x 10(-7) Telsla at the generator surface). A small plastic stylus senses its position and sends a stream of field data back to the system at a very high rate of speed. This data is converted to X-Y-Z position coordinates and is averaged into a smooth contour over the treatment field. This contour can be viewed on the screen from any beam's eye view. A nonmetallic examination table is also supplied to complement the turnkey system.

How long does hand-digitizing take?

In most cases, patient involvement for hand-digitizing takes 10 - 15 minutes. The Windows driven software quickly displays a contour rendering to visually confirm that accurate data collection has been obtained. Data can easily be edited, replaced or stored for future cutting.

What differentiates the Compu•former® models?

Compu•former® TC-5005 LT offers an efficient and economical package including computer, menu-driven program, CNC milling machine and supplies.

Compu•former® TC-5000 adds a manual digitizing package including magnetic source, handheld sensor, and nonmetallic procedure table.

Our Beam Modulation Workstation combines the Compu•former® beam compensation milling machine and Compu•cutter® CC-1000 LT modular block cutter linked to one common computer work station.

Are there any installation considerations with your system?

Compu•former® is a self-standing radiotherapy beam compensator milling system that does not require floor or wall mounting. It can be placed in almost any small area.

Electrical requirements (all systems) are 120 VAC, 60 Hz, 10A. Optional 220 VAC, 50 Hz, 5A is also available.

Are there any additional components that I will have to purchase?

Compu•former® comes as a complete system. Foam blocks, gypsum compensating material, modified Lexan trays and other supplies compliment our complete line of accessories.