Cancer can be cured using various ways in this contemporary era. Some of them include Surgery, Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Hormone Therapy, Stem Cell Transplant and Precision Medicine.
Definition & History:
And the latest one that has been gaining prominence is “TomoTherapy”. Also referred to as helical tomotherapy (HT), it is a type of radiation therapy in which the radiation is received slice-by-slice. It is a form of computed tomography (CT) guided intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
This technique was developed in the early 1990’s at the University of Wisconsin–Madison by professors named Thomas Rockwell Mackie and Paul Reckwerdt.
For what?
This can be used for the treatment of prostate cancer, brain cancer and spine tumors. Additionally, it benefits patients who have been diagnosed with cancer again, who may have received a maximum dose of radiation all through the treatment of their primary cancer.
With this new technology available, cancer is a re-treatable disease which is opening with latest treatment options.
What’s new?
It is quite different from the tradition form of therapy. But how is it different from others?
TomoTherapy offers patients the following:
- 360º Delivery:
Conventional machine design permits radiation to be delivered only from a few directions. Whereas the TomoTherapy treatment system’s linear accelerator (linac) is mounted to a CT scanner-like ring gantry, i.e. the treatment is delivered on a regular basis from all angles surrounding the patient.
More the beam directions, more the control the physicians can plan treatments and therefore more assurance dose will be limited to the tumor. Thereby, threat of short-term and long-term side effects can be reduced.
- Thousands of Targeted Beamlets:
It makes use a patented multi-leaf collimator (MLC) which divides the radiation beam into beamlets all aiming at the tumor. Generally, tens of thousands of beamlets are used in a solo TomoTherapy session.
Powerful software optimizes the contribution of each one to the total tumor dose, minimizing exposure to healthy tissue.
Powerful software optimizes the contribution of every one to the total tumor dose, therefore minimizing the exposure to healthy tissue.
- CT Image guidance for every patient on daily basis:
The exclusive ring gantry design makes 360° delivery pattern possible. Therefore, CT imaging can be employed on a day-to-day basis to guide the precise delivery of each treatment session. It offers flawless integration of image-guided and intensity-modulated radiation therapy.
Duration of TomoTherapy:
TomoTherapy treatment usually takes only 10-20 minutes and it includes daily CT scanning and treatment time, patient set-up, positioning and image registration to guarantee accuracy. The actual time varies from patient to patient.
These treatments are entirely painless and the experience is very alike to having a CT scan or an x-ray taken.
