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The Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center is located at our Williamson
St. Campus.
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ROBOTIC TREATMENT PLANNING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES TREATMENT OF BREAST, HEAD
AND NECK CANCERS
TIn this modern age of automated controls and robotics, "smart" machines are
increasingly integrated into almost every field of high tech endeavor. It
should come as no surprise, therefore, to find similar advances in medical
diagnostics and treatment. At Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center (TCCC),
machines that can be programmed to perform intricate calculations more
quickly and accurately than human technicians are employed in customizing
IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment) for selected types of tumors.
Physicians at TCCC are using Electronic Tissue Compensation (ETC), a
computerized method of customizing the delivery of radiation therapy with
improved dose homogeneity. Until recently, the limiting factor in radiation
therapy has been the question of how much radiation healthy tissue
surrounding the tumor can take without serious side effects. For example, if
a thinner area were to get the same radiation exposure as a thicker area of
anatomy, it would produce a hot spot (an area of higher radiation dose).
Similarly, a cold spot (an area of lower radiation dose) would result in a
thicker area. Electronic Compensation allows clinical professionals at TCCC
to design custom treatments that minimize "hot spots" and "cold spots"
thereby creating a more uniform dose distribution through the treatment
volume. This can lead to a decrease in treatment related side effects and a
more effective and tolerable treatment course. ETC may be most beneficial
for patients with large breasts, patients who have undergone breast
reconstruction, and patients with head and neck cancers.
Electronic Tissue Compensation offers many benefits over traditional
treatment techniques. "Using ETC's powerful computer with advanced graphics,
lightning-fast dose calculation and treatment planning, we are able to go
beyond the limitations of physical compensation techniques," said Linda
Veldkamp, Chief Physicist and Director of Radiation Oncology. "With electronic compensation we
are able to customize the shape of the treatment beam to the exact shape of
the patient on the level of millimeters." Accurate target identification is
essential to IMRT treatment planning and delivery. Fortunately, TCCC has the
latest Image Guided Radiation Therapy tools at their fingertips for use in
precisely identifying target volumes and aligning patients prior to
treatment.
ETC's speed and accuracy in establishing a customized-planning protocol
helps improve patient outcomes. Since each treatment volume is unique,
clinicians need the ability to balance radiation delivery. At TCCC, clinical
staff can identify the shape of the tumor using the system's 3D imaging
capability and deliver focused radiation energy exactly where it is needed
while avoiding surrounding healthy tissue.