Image-guided radiation therapy is a highly precise way to treat cancer, but there are certain drawbacks to this approach. One of these is the possibility that tumors can move during treatment. Patients' breathing and other natural processes can cause tumors to move. Thus, this technique isn't always as accurate as it could be. Advocate Health Care, in particular, uses Dynamic Targeting(r) IGRT, a Varian Medical Systems system that helps provide a more precise treatment.
One recent development in cancer treatment is the introduction of Real-time adaptive conformal radiotherapy systems (RTACCS). RTACCS allows a clinician to plan radiation delivery according to the movement of a patient's pelvis or torso. These new systems allow for more precise radiation delivery, reducing the incidence of recurrence and toxicity. In addition to allowing more accurate dose delivery, these systems can help reduce the total treatment time, as they can target more tumors with fewer fractions. The first step in developing such a system is to decide what kind of treatment is appropriate for the patient's specific tumor. Real-time adaptive conformal radiotherapy systems are based on a set of five components: the patient, the treatment volume, the physicist, and the device. The aim is to maximize patient response by minimizing doses to healthy organs. As a result, they are more efficient than conventional CT-based radiation therapy. However, the researchers noted that many patients are not suitable for ART because the patient's tumor size has changed. The current paradigm of radiation therapy emphasizes the use of imaging to guide treatment. However, conventional radiotherapy techniques rely on port films, anatomic surface landmarks, and radiologic correlation to plan treatment. In contrast, sophisticated imaging techniques acquire three-dimensional (3D) structural and biologic information and allow for precise treatment planning. Unfortunately, this approach can create more problems than it solves. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the limitations of image-guided radiotherapy before adopting this technology. Although image-guided radiotherapy systems are a major focus of the radiation oncology community, they are still in their infantile stages. Many challenges remain, including robust registration and accurate autosegmentation. Further, treatment planning must account for interfractional variations in a patient's respiratory motion. In addition, image-guided radiation therapy must improve respiratory-correlated imaging, which correlates breathing and target motion. The advantages of image-guided radiotherapy systems are numerous. The system reduces the amount of radiation a patient needs to undergo treatment, and it can be used to account for variations in internal anatomy that may occur during a treatment. One such patient, Denis Keefe, was treated with this system and is currently a patient in a clinical trial. While his tumor was small, he was suffering from congestive heart failure. With the help of image-guided radiotherapy systems, doctors can increase the accuracy of their treatment plans. The treatment volume is reduced by increasing the accuracy of the targeted area, and the treatment schedule can be shortened. Patients can also experience less toxicity after radiation because of improved tumor control. These new technologies are also beneficial in clinical trials. Images can also improve the interpretation of data from future studies. This type of imaging system is a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) is used to deliver doses to tumors. This technique is ideal for treating head and neck tumors, as it can reduce the safety margin and allow frameless radiosurgery of lung and brain tumors. While CBCT-based guidance has its limitations, it is a suitable treatment option for tumors of the head and neck. Its motion-insensitive nature makes it less suitable for treating tumors of the abdomen, but is still possible with breath-hold technology. In addition to delivering tumor-specific doses, MRI guidance on linac offers several benefits. First of all, the continuous visualization of the tumor during the beam delivery eliminates the need for implanted markers. Second, it reduces the risk of high doses to critical structures located close to the tumor. Third, MRI guidance on linac provides improved coverage of the tumor. The system is a must-have in all SBRT applications.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|