Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)

The Holzer Center for Cancer Care features a $2 million state-of-the-art linear accelerator, the 3rd of its kind in the nation.

Alone the linear accelerator is a device; IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) is the program it uses. Together they precisely target cancerous cells and save healthy tissue. By affecting as little good tissue as possible, treatment is able to go on as planned without the necessity of breaks to allow the patient to recover. This is because only the tumor is targeted and the area around is spared and left healthy.

With Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), the combination of several beams of radiation come from different directions to produce a custom dose focused on treating only the tumor. The radiation beams actually conform to the shape of the tumor, sparing as much healthy tissue as possible.

IMRT is painless and the patient will not feel any different during the procedure. During treatment, the patient is asked to lie still on a table for 15- 30 minutes. Depending on type, location, and size of the tumor, IMRT sessions are usually scheduled five days a week for six to ten weeks.

Clinicians at the HCCC use the SmartBeam® IMRT system and Clinac® medical linear accelerator from Varian Medical System to treat patients with prostate, breast, head and neck, lung, pancreatic, and other cancers. The machine stands approximately nine feet tall by nearly 15 feet long and weighs about 18,700 pounds. It generates high energy X-rays by using microwave energy to accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light. As the electrons reach maximum speed, they collide with a metal target to release photons (or X-rays). The accelerator rotates around the patient to deliver the radiation treatments from nearly any angle.

The linear accelerator is outfitted with an important accessory called a multi-leaf collimator. This device, which has 120 computer-controlled mechanical “leaves” or “fingers”, is used to shape the beam of radiation so that it conforms to the three-dimensional shape of the tumor.

The HCCC is also equipped with special software that makes it possible for clinicians to plan, simulate, and deliver IMRT and other kinds of ultra-precise cancer care.
 

Contact Holzer Center for Cancer Care for more information.

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