The East Texas Medical Center Cancer Institute now offers the
most advanced generation of cancer radiotherapy called TrueBeam,™
which provides more noninvasive options for treating complex cases
in the lung, liver, prostate, breast, abdomen, head and neck.
"The TrueBeam system is faster, more precise and safer than
previous generations of radiotherapy," said Dr. Heidi McKellar,
board-certified radiation oncologist and medical director of the
ETMC Cancer Institute.
The TrueBeam uses volumetric-modulated arc therapy or VMAT, in
which the device rotates around the patient to deliver radiation
beams. At the same time, the radiation is computer-synchronized to
compensate for the movements of the patient's breathing, ensuring
that the beam reaches only the targeted tumor.
"The precision is measured in increments of less than a
millimeter and accuracy checks are performed every 10 milliseconds
throughout treatment," said Blas Caroprese, PhD, chief medial
physicist for the ETMC Cancer Institute. "This allows us to treat a
moving tumor as if it were standing still, and reduce the margin of
healthy tissue affected by the treatment beam."
The TrueBeam system can deliver treatments up to 50 percent
faster, which adds to patient comfort. Intelligent automation
further speeds treatments with up to a five-fold reduction in the
number of steps needed for imaging, positioning and treating
patients. "A standard intensity-modulated treatment that would
typically take 10 minutes can be completed in 2 minutes; making
this process easier for the patient," said Dr. McKellar.
Learn more about TrueBeam.