Alegent Health is the first in the Omaha area to
offer the TomoTherapy® Hi·Art® (Highly Integrated Adaptive Radiotherapy)
System, located at Immanuel Medical Center. This
all-in-one solution allows doctors to check the location of
tumors before each treatment, then deliver painless, precise
radiation therapy resulting in unmatched accuracy for cancer
patients, especially those with breast, lung and prostate
tumors.
How it works
TomoTherapy
combines Intensity Modulated
Radiotherapy (IMRT) with a computerized tomography (CT)
scanner allowing doctors to view the treatment area in three
dimensions. This 3D technology allows physicians to verify
the position of the tumor before each treatment session, so
adjustments can be made on the spot to make sure that radiation is
delivered exactly where it should be.
The unique CT scanner design delivers
radiation continuously from every angle, unlike traditional radiation therapy equipment which projects radiation from only a few directions. TomoTherapy transforms a single beam of radiation into tens of thousands of tiny beamlets aimed directly at the tumor in a 360 degree delivery pattern. This helical delivery allows for unprecedented precision,
meaning less damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
The TomoTherapy
Process
Planning
Before beginning a
TomoTherapy treatment, the doctor uses 3D images from a combination of
scanning technologies (such as CT and MRI) and special software to
establish the precise contours for each treatment volume (tumor) and any
regions at risk (sensitive organs or structures). The doctor then decides
how much radiation the tumor should receive, as well as acceptable levels
for surrounding structures. The Hi-Art treatment system calculates the
appropriate pattern, position and intensity of the radiation beam to be
delivered, to match the doctor’s prescription as closely as
possible.
Patient Positioning As both a treatment delivery machine and a CT
scanner, the Hi-Art system
allows doctors to take a CT scan just before each treatment. With the
scan, they can verify the position of the tumor and, if necessary, adjust
the patient’s position to help make sure radiation is directed right where
it should be.
Radiation Delivery The Hi-Art treatment system delivers
intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a helical (spiral)
delivery pattern. Photon radiation is produced by a linear accelerator (or
linac for short), which travels in multiple circles around the patient and
moves in unison with a device called a multi-leaf collimator, or MLC.
Meanwhile, the couch is also moving—guiding the patient slowly through the
center of the ring. Each time the linac makes a loop around the patient it
directs a unique, optimizedset of radiation beamlets at the
tumor.
Benefits of TomoTherapy
Does not require a lengthy set-up process
Targets large, small and multiple lesions
Thousands of rotating beamlets allow for precise delivery treatment
