New Technology Makes Tracking Tumors Easier

Intensity Modulated Radio Therapy Targets Cancer and Helps Minimize Treatment Side Effects Despite constant advancements in cancer research and treatment, the science of eliminating tumors remains challenging. With many traditional radiation treatments, the exact position of a tumor and the proper dose of radiation needed can be difficult to determine and even harm healthy tissue. Now a new target treatment system may make tracking tumors easier. Intensity modulated radio therapy, like Siemens' Artiste, finds and targets tumors giving them the proper dose of radiation each time. By using multiple sets of beams from multiple areas and modulating each beam to allow different energy at different parts of the beam, doctors can calculate doses so that they treat the tumors but exclude healthy tissue. Because a tumor can change position within a patient from one day to the next, identifying the exact location is crucial. Intensity modulated radio therapy puts the radiation only where it's needed helping to minimize patient side effects. Produced for Siemens