Nuclear Oncology

Posts Tagged ‘Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy’

IMRT often requires multiple treatment sessions or divided. There are several factors to take into account when determining the total number of sessions of IMRT and dose of radiation. The oncologist takes into account the type, location and size of the malignant tumor, doses to critical normal structures, and the patient’s health. Typically, patients are scheduled for IMRT sessions five days a week for five to eight weeks.

At the beginning of the treatment session, the therapist places the patient on the table and guided to the skin tags that define the treatment area. If you have molded devices are used to maintain the patient in the proper position. You may have to place the patient in another position during the procedure. Imaging systems in the treatment machine such as x-rays or CT can be used to verify the positioning and location markers. Read the rest of this entry »

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high precision radiotherapy linear accelerators using x-ray computer-controlled for precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. IMRT allows the radiation dose to conform more precisely to the three-dimensional (3-D) of the tumor by modulating (or control) the intensity of the radiation beam in several small volumes. IMRT also allows higher doses to focus on regions within the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding normal critical structures. Treatment is carefully planned with the help of three-dimensional images of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patient, along with computerized dose calculations to determine the dose intensity pattern that best suits the shape of tumor. In general, combinations of multiple intensity modulated fields coming from different beam directions produce a radiation dose that maximizes individual dose to the tumor while minimizing doses to adjacent normal tissue.

Because IMRT the dose rate compared to normal tissue dose to tumor is minimized, can be given higher doses of radiation, effective and safe to tumors with fewer side effects compared to radiation therapy techniques conventional. IMRT also has the potential to reduce treatment toxicity, even at doses not increased. Because of its toxicity, IMRT compared with conventional radiotherapy, requires a slightly longer time of daily treatment, additional planning and security checks before the patient can begin treatment. Read the rest of this entry »