Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or IMRT is a cancer treatment procedure that can deliver higher doses of radiation directly to cancer cells than is possible with conventional radiotherapy. In addition, IMRT can deliver these higher doses while limiting the dose to healthy surrounding tissue. Because of this ability, IMRT can be utilized to treat tumors that until recently would have been considered untreatable due to close proximity of vital organs and structures.
With IMRT, very small beams, or beamlets, are aimed at a tumor from many angles. During treatment, the radiation intensity of each beamlet is controlled, and the beam shape changes hundreds of times during each treatment. As a result, the radiation dose bends around important healthy tissues in a way that is impossible with other techniques. Because of the complexity of these motions, physicians use special high-speed computers, treatment-planning software, diagnostic imaging and patient-positioning devices to plan treatments and control the radiation dose during therapy.
A linear accelerator equipped with a special device called a multileaf collimator shapes the radiation beam, and delivers the radiation in accordance with the treatment plan. We are proud to be able to offer both conventional IMRT and RapidArc IMRT.