Revere Health Cancer Center offers tattoo-less, heart-protecting radiation treatment

PROVO, Utah – June 22 – Revere Health Radiation Oncology offers the AlignRT system for surface guided radiation therapy (SGRT) to treat nearly all types of cancers. This system from Vision RT, the leaders in SGRT, is especially beneficial to patients with left breast cancer, as it can aid the radiotherapy team in protecting the patient’s heart from unwanted radiation.

Treating breast cancer can leave the heart vulnerable to radiation exposure, which has been shown to lead to serious long-term cardiac complications¹.

“If you have left-breast cancer, we take extra precautions to make sure that your heart receives minimal radiation exposure during your treatment,” said Revere Health radiation oncologist Bruce McAllister, MD. “We use a technique called deep inspiration breath hold to move the heart away from the breast during therapy. However, achieving this can be challenging.”

McAllister explained that patients breathe in different ways at different times, and some arch their back to simulate a deep breath in. These different movements can appear similar to a patient’s true breath hold but do not necessarily separate the heart from the breast.

AlignRT uses three camera units to monitor thousands of points on the patient’s skin. This allows the system to detect any motion as patients hold their breath with sub-millimeter accuracy.

“So, if you move out of position, the radiation beam is turned off to protect the heart,” said McAllister. “The ultimate goal of radiation treatment is accurately targeting the cancer with a high dose of radiation while saving the surrounding tissue, and this technology allows us to do that. We now use it to treat nearly all types of cancer.”

Traditionally, patients who are treated with radiation therapy also require several small tattoos to help therapists pinpoint the exact location of the cancer subsequent treatment. AlignRT’s real-time movement detection eliminates the need for tattoos.

“A lot of patients are pleasantly surprised they don’t need to get tattoos,” said McAllister.“The accuracy that AlignRT provides without the need for a permanent mark on the patient’s skin is a wonderful advancement in modern medicine.”

For more information, please contact: Lexi McCausland Tel: 385.203.1234 | Email: lexi.mccausland@reverehealth.com

 

1 Darby et al. Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in Women after Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 2013; 368:987-9981016-0107 Issue 1.0

 

About AlignRT®

AlignRT®, developed by Vision RT, is the leading Surface Guidance solution for Radiation Therapy. It tracks the patient’s position in real time to within one millimetre, and is completely non-invasive and harmless, enabling a safer and more comfortable environment for radiation therapy patients. For more information, visit www.visionrt.com.