|
 |
News
 Lisa Henson, MD, Chair of Radiation Oncology at Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the benefits of RapidArc treatment with a patient. |
< Back to Main News Page
Location And Directions... |
The Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center is located at our Williamson
St. Campus.
|
TRINITAS FIRST IN NJ TO OFFER RAPIDARC TECHNOLOGY
Radiation Therapy Technology Has Potential To Improve Cancer Care
Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center is now the first cancer treatment
center in the state of New Jersey to offer its cancer patients Rapid Arc
radiotherapy technology, a fast, precise form of treatment using advanced
technology from Varian Medical Systems. This revolutionary radiotherapy
technology is 80 percent faster than conventional radiation. This speed and
precision can make a significant difference in the patient's outcome.
"We're very pleased to offer another technological first for our patients at
Trinitas," says Gary S. Horan, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. "This technology makes Trinitas
Comprehensive Cancer Center a regional leader in substantially improving
cancer treatment outcomes by doing a better job of protecting healthy tissue
while delivering more powerful radiation doses to tumors."
Rapid Arc is an image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)
treatment that takes about 90 seconds to deliver, which is markedly faster
than other medical facilities where treatment time can last as much as 20
minutes or longer. During a RapidArc treatment the radiation beam is
continually shaped and reshaped according to the size, shape, and position
of the tumor in the body. As a result, the delivery of radiation is many
times faster than conventional radiotherapy, which creates another benefit
of greater comfort and convenience for patients.
"Rapid Arc makes it possible for us to deliver highly-precise
intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments quickly," said Dr. Lisa
Henson, Chair of Radiation Oncology at Trinitas. "These treatments target
tumors accurately while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. Because the
treatment is fast, it is also easier on the patient. Patients who had
difficulty holding still for long periods of time, are now able to receive
their treatment in less time, thereby allowing us to improve quality of care
while simultaneously making patients more comfortable."
This advanced treatment technique is accomplished using the Trilogy linear
accelerator. Trinitas was the first in New Jersey to offer patient
treatments on this state-of-the-art equipment. The Trilogy delivers RapidArc
treatments 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.
