Liner Accelerator
Trilogy is a state-of-the-art machine that has the ability to perform highly complex Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Image Guided Radiation Therapy treatments. The machine works with computer technology to assist in targeted and advanced forms of radiation therapy.
Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
IGRT is the use of treatment room imaging modalities (i.e. X-ray, ultrasound, and CT scans) to precisely target a tumor for daily radiation treatment. Using image guidance for tumors affected by organ motion and day-to-day set up changes can lead to increased tumor response and/or decreased side effects from treatment. Utilizing the new CT on rails system, physicians are able to accurately target the treatment area by combining radiation machine and images of the patient anatomy taken by a CT scanner.
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
IMRT is another treatment technique used to deliver highly accurate doses of radiation to irregularly shaped tumors with fewer adverse side effects. Pencil-thin beams of varied intensity conforms the radiation to the share of the tumor, allowing physicians to attach the cancer with the higher doses of radiation while minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue and organs. Because IMRT equipment is highly specialized, not every cancer treatment center offers IMRT. June E. Nylen Cancer Center has a strong and ongoing commitment to bringing our patients the best and most current therapies.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) allows tumors to be destroyed with surgery — “Surgery without a Scalpel.”
Radio surgery is a radiation delivery procedure that precisely delivers large radiation doses to tumors and other relevant anatomical targets in a single session or in a series of sessions (typically up to five). The goal of this non-invasive procedure is to destroy, or render inactive, the target anatomy without harming healthy tissue and without involving traditional surgery, and avoiding anesthesia.
Download our Patient’s Guide to SRS Brochure
Stereotactic Body RadioSurgery (SBRT)
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, or SBRT, a type of external radiation therapy, is available at the Nylen Cancer Center. In the past, the fear of exposure to radiation and the high cost of a CT scan meant many patients went unscreened until the disease was advanced and had caused other illness, such as pneumonia.
With the SBRT capabilities, the low dosage of radiation given off during a CT is similar to the dose received during a mammogram.
Internal Radiation Therapy – Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation that involves the placement of radioactive sources into a tumor or in an area where a tumor was removed. This technique allows for the delivery of high doses of radiation therapy while simultaneously sparing normal tissue.
The word “brachytherapy” means “short therapy,” appropriately implying that the radiation is limited to short distances. This results in decreased toxicity to normal tissues and also allows a higher radiation dose to the tumor.
Internal radiation therapy (or brachytherapy) uses radiation that is placed very close to or inside the tumor.
The radiation source is usually sealed in a small holder called an implant. Implants may be in the form of thin wires, plastic tubes called catheters, ribbons, capsules, or seeds.
The implant is put directly into the body. Internal radiation therapy may require a brief hospital stay. The radiation is emitted outward, unlike external beam radiotherapy, where radiation travels through normal tissue in order to reach the tumor.
Brachytherapy is often used to treat prostate, gynecologic, and breast malignancies. The radiation oncologist travels to the Siouxland Urology office to perform this procedure for prostate cancer patients, increasing patient convenience.
3-D Radiation Therapy
June E. Nylen Cancer Center offers the innovation of 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy. Traditionally, the planning of radiation treatments has been done in two dimensions (width and height). Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3-D Therapy) uses computer technology to allow doctors to more precisely target a tumor with radiation beams by using width, height, and depth.
A 3-D image of a tumor is obtained using a CT scan, MRI, or PET scan. Using information from the image, special computer programs design radiation beams that “conform” to the shape of the tumor.
Because the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor is largely spared by this technique, higher doses of radiation can be used to treat the cancer without increased side effects. Improved outcomes with 3-D therapy have been reported for nasopharyngeal, prostate, lung, liver, and brain cancers.