SUPER ACCELERATOR – INNOVATIVE, INTELLIGENT AND INTUITIVE
MIMA is proud to be the first cancer center in Florida to offer True Beam. Since August, 2010, we have provided the latest and one of the most advanced radiotherapy technologies in the world. Varian Medical Systems remains at the forefront of systems that provide speed, precision, accuracy and personalization. TrueBeam, a new line of “super” accelerators, offers more flexible cancer treatments with greater efficiency and can treat cancers anywhere in the body.
TrueBeam can be used for all forms of advanced external beam techniques including image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery (IGRT and IGRS), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and RapidArc® radiotherapy technology.
As with our Novalis Tx, True Beam contains Varian's technology for Dynamic Targeting® image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), which utilizes a spectrum of imaging and motion management tools to pinpoint and target tumors. This novel approach enables doctors to see, measure, track, and treat cancerous tumors with unprecedented speed and precision, even when they move.
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From circular arcs for very small spherical lesions and functional radiosurgery, to conformal beam, dynamic arc and intensity modulated radiosurgery (IMRS), the super accelerators allow the best mix of all these modalities to perfectly sculpt the dose to the exact shape of the lesion and protect vital risk organs at the same time. In comparison, other systems offer a limited treatment approach and rely simply on circular beams, which often give uneven coverage over the tumor and has an increased chance of harming nearby healthy tissue. The beams move around the patient's body so that the radiation penetrates the entire tumor or lesion from different angles quickly. While the tumor or lesion receives the full dose of radiation, the surrounding healthy tissue only receives a small percentage of the radiation, which reduces potential damage to surrounding tissues.
TrueBeam and Novalis Tx both offer RapidArc -- a major advance that has improved the conformity of the radiation dose and at the same time shorten treatment times, two to eight times faster than many other systems.
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RapidArc delivers the radiation dose in one whole volume rather than layering it slice by slice over a period of time. Even the most complicated targets can complete treatment in 15 minutes or less. Why is fast treatment important? There are two reasons why short treatment times can be important: treatment accuracy and patient comfort. The length of treatments with some devices can be extreme, lasting an hour or more, during which the patient must lie as still as possible. Prolonged treatment times can make the entire process even more stressful, and as a result, patients may require sedating medications. Reducing the treatment time also minimizes the time where the patient may make small movements that can affect the overall accuracy of the treatment. Who wouldn’t prefer a 15 minute treatment without sedating medications over one that’s an hour or longer?
With TrueBeam and Novalis Tx, look out cancer, there’s nowhere to hide!
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