Health Matters 11.indd - Maury Regional Healthcare System

Cancer Centerenhances technologyIn March, the Cancer Center enhanced technology with the addition of image-guidedradiotherapy (IGRT) for cancer. Radiation oncologists Michael Sattasiri, M.D., andJoel Kochanski, M.D., now treat patients using the powerful new Trilogy linearaccelerator and imaging system from Varian Medical Systems, which make it possibleto deliver a wide range of ultra-precise cancer treatments with great speed.the tumor, and an On-Board Imager devicefor fast, accurate, real-time tumor tracking andautomated patient positioning.“This state-of-the-art system makes it possiblefor us to treat patients with the most advancedradiotherapy techniques, using the mostclinically efficient processes in the world,”said Dr. Sattasiri. “It provides us with moreversatility and precision than we’ve ever had forcustomizing treatments.”At the core of the Trilogy system is a highpoweredmedical linear accelerator, a machinethat rotates around the patient to deliverradiation treatments from nearly any angle.A high-precision system also incorporates amulti-leaf collimator for shaping the radiationbeam to match the three-dimensional shape ofThe Trilogy system also includes cone-beam CTimaging technology to acquire a high-quality3-D image of the tumor and surroundinganatomy. During treatment, there are changesthat occur in the position of the tumor due tonormal physiological processes. By using 3-D CTimaging, physicians are able to make positioningadjustments and treat tumors with an enhancedlevel of accuracy, while sparing the healthysurrounding tissue.“The extraordinary power and flexibility of theTrilogy system assures us that we can delivera treatment plan that gives our patients thebest and most appropriate treatment possible,”said Dr. Kochanski. “By combining the mostpowerful radiotherapy treatment machine withhigh-quality imaging, tracking and monitoringdevices, Trilogy allows us to deliver the mostaccurate treatments possible in the shortestamount of time. That translates to betteroutcomes along with greater patient comfort,since patients spend less time on the treatmenttable.”—6—