Mary Bird Perkins is proud to offer our patients IGRT, also known as image guided radiation therapy.
IGRT is a new technology designed to improve the precision and effectiveness of cancer treatments by giving doctors the ability to target and track tumors more accurately. An automated system for IGRT enables clinicians to obtain high-resolution images to pinpoint tumor sites, adjust patient positioning when necessary, and complete a treatment, all within the standard treatment time slot.
Up to now, radiation oncologists have had to contend with variations in patient positioning and with the patient’s breathing (respiratory) motion by treating a margin of healthy tissue around the tumor. IGRT enables doctors to locate the tumor before each dose is administered while the patient is in the treatment position. This technique minimizes the volume of healthy tissue exposed to radiation during treatment. MBPCC has two new treatment machines with this new technology: BrainLAB Novalis and the TomoTherapy Hi-Art System.
Our expert team of physicians and medical physicists provides the support required for these advanced technologies. Partnerships with Louisiana State University and TomoTherapy, as well as research agreements with BrainLAB Novalis bring the latest treatment advances to our patients.