Showing posts with label IGRT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IGRT. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
North Shore Radiation Therapy Treating Cancer Using Rapid Arc(TM) Radiotherapy Technology, a Fast, Precise Cancer Treatment
Radiation Therapy Technology from Varian Medical Systems has potential to improve cancer care while reducing the cost of treatment
Huntington, New York -- October 08, 2008 -- North Shore Radiation Therapy in Huntington, New York has started treating cancer patients with Rapid Arc™ radiotherapy technology, a fast, precise form of treatment using advanced technology from Varian Medical Systems. The new Rapid Arc™ treatment is two to eight times faster than conventional forms of radiotherapy. This precision can make a significant difference in the patient’s outcome. This IMRT treatment, which takes about 90 seconds, is delivered significantly faster than other regional facilities where treatment time can last 20 minutes or longer. Reducing this time means treatment can be delivered before the patient becomes uncomfortable and potentially moves. “Rapid Arc makes it possible for us deliver highly-precise intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments quickly,” said Richard Byrnes M.D., Medical Director. “These treatments target tumors accurately while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. Because they’re fast, Rapid Arc treatments are also easier on the patient. It’s hard for people to hold still for long periods of time. By delivering doses more quickly, we can simultaneously improve the quality of care and make our patients more comfortable.” North Shore Radiation Therapy’s Rapid Arc radiotherapy treatment is delivered with just a single rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. During that rotation, the treatment beam is continually shaped and reshaped according to the size, contour and position of the tumor within the body. The beam shaping is accomplished using a beam-shaping device called a multi-leaf collimator (MLC). This device has 120 computer-controlled mechanical “leaves” or “fingers” that move to create apertures of different shapes and sizes. During a Rapid Arc treatment, specialized software algorithms vary three parameters simultaneously: the speed of rotation around the patient, the shape of the MLC aperture, and the dose delivery rate. “We’re very pleased to be able to offer patients this exciting new treatment option,” says Jeffrey Musmacher, Chief Operating Officer. “Varian's Rapid Arc technology is enabling us to target some types of cancer very accurately while sparing healthy tissue.”
Since 1988, North Shore Radiation Therapy has provided premier radiation therapy services to Suffolk County. The center offers 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy, IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy), SRS (Stereotactic Radiosurgery), Rapid Arc, Partial Breast, skin and Gynecological Brachytherapy. North Shore Radiation Therapy is the most experienced in all modalities of prostate cancer radiation therapy including seeds and IMRT in Suffolk County. The center is staffed by board certified physicians, and highly trained clinicians with expertise in utilizing the most advanced radiation therapy technology. Located at in Huntington, and Smithtown, New York, the center is open Monday through Friday, and accepts all insurance plans. Appointments can be made by calling (631) 427-2273. You can visit the website at www.cancer-radiation.com.
Contact: Jeffrey S. Musmacher
Chief Operating Officer
(631) 427-2273
jmusmacher@cancer-radiation.com
Thursday, April 17, 2008
North Shore Radiation Therapy Offers Prostate Cancer Patients The Latest Tool For Precise Treatment
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. - (Business Wire) Technology to deliver high dose radiotherapy for cancer treatment has constantly been improving and physicians in continue to be faced with the difficulty of treating a moving target. Sophisticated techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have been developed to produce highly conformal beams to minimize dose to healthy tissues. However, without accounting for organ motion, the benefits of these technologies cannot be realized. Radiation Oncologists at North Shore Radiation Therapy in New York are able to account for this motion.
The introduction of image guided radiation therapy, or IGRT, has revolutionized the delivery of modern day radiotherapy for prostate cancer. IGRT combines imaging with treatment delivery to provide up to real-time of the patient's organs in the treatment position, at the time of treatment, optimizing accuracy and precision. Organs including, but not limited to the lung, prostate and bladder tend to move as much as centimeters during the course of treatment and image guidance allows the physician to target and track tumors with pinpoint precision.
There are several techniques used to achieve image guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer. For some tumors, gold markers can be placed in the tumor. The patient is imaged daily prior to each radiation treatment. This is called on board imaging, or OBI. Patients who prefer not to have markers placed can be treated with other image guided techniques such as cone beam CT scan or ultrasound. In cone beam CT, the imager is rotated around the patient to quickly acquire a high-quality, low dose 3-D image of the tumor and surrounding anatomy. These 3-D images are compared to reference images from the treatment plan. Through 3-D image matching, which can be accomplished manually or automatically, shifts are calculated and the patient is moved into position for treatment. This technique is particularly useful for treatment sites that are far away from bony landmarks.
With the third technique, an ultrasound is performed daily prior to each treatment. The images are compared with reference images and the patient is shifted accordingly.
“Image guided radiation therapy allows physicians to treat with pinpoint accuracy diseases including brain tumors, prostate cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and spine tumors, as well as many others” stated Dr. Heather Zinkin, a board certified Radiation Oncologist at North Shore Radiation Therapy.
Their facilities house state of the art technology and patients can be treated using on board imaging, cone beam CT and ultrasound for high precision therapy.
About North Shore Radiation Therapy
Since 1988, North Shore Radiation Therapy has provided premier radiation therapy services to Suffolk County. The center offers 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy, IMRT, IGRT, SRS (Stereotactic Radiosurgery), RapidArc, Prostate Brachytherapy, Mammosite and Gynecological Brachytherapy. North Shore Radiation Therapy is the most experienced in prostate cancer treatment in Suffolk County. The center is staffed by board certified physicians, and highly trained clinicians with expertise in utilizing the most advanced radiation therapy technology. Located at in Huntington, and Smithtown, New York, the center is open Monday through Friday, and accepts all insurance plans. Appointments can be made by calling (631) 427-2273. You can visit the website at www.cancer-radiation.com.
North Shore Radiation Therapy
Jeffrey S. Musmacher
631-427-2273
jmusmacher@cancer-radiation.com
http://www.cancer-radiation.com
The introduction of image guided radiation therapy, or IGRT, has revolutionized the delivery of modern day radiotherapy for prostate cancer. IGRT combines imaging with treatment delivery to provide up to real-time of the patient's organs in the treatment position, at the time of treatment, optimizing accuracy and precision. Organs including, but not limited to the lung, prostate and bladder tend to move as much as centimeters during the course of treatment and image guidance allows the physician to target and track tumors with pinpoint precision.
There are several techniques used to achieve image guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer. For some tumors, gold markers can be placed in the tumor. The patient is imaged daily prior to each radiation treatment. This is called on board imaging, or OBI. Patients who prefer not to have markers placed can be treated with other image guided techniques such as cone beam CT scan or ultrasound. In cone beam CT, the imager is rotated around the patient to quickly acquire a high-quality, low dose 3-D image of the tumor and surrounding anatomy. These 3-D images are compared to reference images from the treatment plan. Through 3-D image matching, which can be accomplished manually or automatically, shifts are calculated and the patient is moved into position for treatment. This technique is particularly useful for treatment sites that are far away from bony landmarks.
With the third technique, an ultrasound is performed daily prior to each treatment. The images are compared with reference images and the patient is shifted accordingly.
“Image guided radiation therapy allows physicians to treat with pinpoint accuracy diseases including brain tumors, prostate cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and spine tumors, as well as many others” stated Dr. Heather Zinkin, a board certified Radiation Oncologist at North Shore Radiation Therapy.
Their facilities house state of the art technology and patients can be treated using on board imaging, cone beam CT and ultrasound for high precision therapy.
About North Shore Radiation Therapy
Since 1988, North Shore Radiation Therapy has provided premier radiation therapy services to Suffolk County. The center offers 3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy, IMRT, IGRT, SRS (Stereotactic Radiosurgery), RapidArc, Prostate Brachytherapy, Mammosite and Gynecological Brachytherapy. North Shore Radiation Therapy is the most experienced in prostate cancer treatment in Suffolk County. The center is staffed by board certified physicians, and highly trained clinicians with expertise in utilizing the most advanced radiation therapy technology. Located at in Huntington, and Smithtown, New York, the center is open Monday through Friday, and accepts all insurance plans. Appointments can be made by calling (631) 427-2273. You can visit the website at www.cancer-radiation.com.
North Shore Radiation Therapy
Jeffrey S. Musmacher
631-427-2273
jmusmacher@cancer-radiation.com
http://www.cancer-radiation.com
Monday, April 7, 2008
Prostate IGRT Radiation Treatment
A new technology at North Shore Radiation Therapy enables physicians to precisely adjust for daily variations in the position of a tumor before treating it with high doses of radiation.The medical community has a new way to offer patients prostate cancer treatment. This new technology, Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), helps to pinpoint the treatment position for radiation therapy and correct for daily changes in tumor location due to set-up uncertainties, weight, and organ movement.
This technology, which is embedded in a linear accelerator, a device that delivers radiation therapy, allows Radiation Oncologists on Long Island to generate real-time CT images of the patient's anatomy directly from the treatment machine. Within seconds, calculations determine if an adjustment is needed to align the tumor perfectly within the radiation beam. Any corrections, which may be as tiny as 1 to 2 millimeters, are automatically made by adjusting the position of the patient before treatment.
Unlike conventional radiation therapy, the real-time imaging used in IGRT allows each radiation therapy treatment to be delivered to its intended site with pinpoint accuracy, sparing healthy surrounding tissue without significantly increasing the total dose to the patient.
This technology collects treatment data and helps report the effectiveness og treatment. This allows your Radiation Oncologist to further refine treatment techniques to adapt to changs that may occur during your treatment course at North Shore Radiation Therapy.
Through it's precision targeting, IGRT can mitigate many of the side effects caused by radiation therapy, such as dry mouth, weight loss, dry skin, fatigue, nausea and bowel dysfunction.
If you would like to receive a consultation by one of our Board Certified, American College of Radiation Oncology physicians, please call us at (631) 427-2273. This treatment is offered in both our Smithtown and Greenlawn Centers on Long Island in New York.
This technology, which is embedded in a linear accelerator, a device that delivers radiation therapy, allows Radiation Oncologists on Long Island to generate real-time CT images of the patient's anatomy directly from the treatment machine. Within seconds, calculations determine if an adjustment is needed to align the tumor perfectly within the radiation beam. Any corrections, which may be as tiny as 1 to 2 millimeters, are automatically made by adjusting the position of the patient before treatment.
Unlike conventional radiation therapy, the real-time imaging used in IGRT allows each radiation therapy treatment to be delivered to its intended site with pinpoint accuracy, sparing healthy surrounding tissue without significantly increasing the total dose to the patient.
This technology collects treatment data and helps report the effectiveness og treatment. This allows your Radiation Oncologist to further refine treatment techniques to adapt to changs that may occur during your treatment course at North Shore Radiation Therapy.
Through it's precision targeting, IGRT can mitigate many of the side effects caused by radiation therapy, such as dry mouth, weight loss, dry skin, fatigue, nausea and bowel dysfunction.
If you would like to receive a consultation by one of our Board Certified, American College of Radiation Oncology physicians, please call us at (631) 427-2273. This treatment is offered in both our Smithtown and Greenlawn Centers on Long Island in New York.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
New Prostate Cancer Treatment
A groundbreaking new development provides image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) two to eight times faster and more precisely than is possible with traditional IMRT or helical tomotherapy. This is a winning combination that enables physicians to improve the standard of care and treat more patients.
Plan studies comparing fixed-beam and helical IMRT with RapidArc show that RapidArc can reduce the amount of non-therapeutic radiation reaching healthy tissues during treatment. For example, in the case of head and neck cancer treatments, RapidArc plans are better at protecting critical structures such as the spinal cord, brain stem, eyes, optic nerve and chiasm, parotid (salivary) glands, and brain. Moreover, with Rapid Arc’s highly efficient use of the primary beam, secondary stray radiation caused by scatter and leakage are reduced by over 50% on average compared with fixed field IMRT.
See the link on the right for more information
Plan studies comparing fixed-beam and helical IMRT with RapidArc show that RapidArc can reduce the amount of non-therapeutic radiation reaching healthy tissues during treatment. For example, in the case of head and neck cancer treatments, RapidArc plans are better at protecting critical structures such as the spinal cord, brain stem, eyes, optic nerve and chiasm, parotid (salivary) glands, and brain. Moreover, with Rapid Arc’s highly efficient use of the primary beam, secondary stray radiation caused by scatter and leakage are reduced by over 50% on average compared with fixed field IMRT.
Other tests showed that even complex RapidArc treatment plans can be delivered in less than two minutes, with fewer than 750 MUs. In comparison, Varian’s best IMRT treatments, delivered one field at a time, require approximately one minute per field to deliver, while the average multislice helical IMRT treatment requires 10 to 15 minutes.
Studies by Cedric Yu, DSc, professor of radiation oncology at the University of Maryland Medical Center into single-arc IMRT has shown it to be equal to or better than multiple-field IMRT in terms of target volume coverage and normal tissue sparing. He found that a single arc can deliver essentially similar dose distributions compared with IMRT plans that incorporate as many as 36 fields.
THIS NEW INNOVATIVE TREATMENT IS ONLY ONE OF THE MANY OFFERINGS TO BE AVAILABLE AT THE NEW NORTH SHORE RADIATION THERAPY ON LONG ISLAND IN NEW YORK, OPENING MARCH 2008.
See the link on the right for more information
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