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The TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® system introduces a new, integrated way to deliver radiation treatments for cancer. The process makes it easier on clinicians and patients alike.
 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.
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Questions and Answers |
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How long will the procedure take?
On the average, the full procedure takes approximately 20 minutes from when the patient enters the treatment room until they leave. This includes approximately five minutes for the daily CT to
be performed and another five minutes for treatment to be delivered (“beam-on time”). The remaining time is used for patient set-up, positioning and image registration to ensure accuracy. The
actual time will vary somewhat by patient.
Why perform a CT scan every day?
CTrue™ imaging, available only from the Hi-Art® system, allows clinicians to see what they plan to treat immediately prior to beginning each treatment fraction. This is important because
anatomy can change from day to day. CTrue helps ensure that the tumor will not be under-dosed, and that radiation exposure to surrounding tissue will be minimized according to plan. In addition,
daily CT scans can be used to adapt a treatment plan, if necessary. |
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 Continuous 360º treatment 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, optimized set of radiation beamlets at the tumor. Quite literally, the Tomo process runs rings around cancer! |
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.