Cancer Patients to Receive Faster, Precise Radiotherapy at Good Sam

Good Samaritan Hospital will soon begin treating cancer patients using the new TrueBeam Linear Accelerator system, an innovative medical technology that enables a radically different approach to treating cancer with image-guided radiotherapy. Shawn Zimberg, M.D., Medical Director, John Rescigno, M.D., Associate Medical Director, and Raman Kaul, M.D., will begin treating patients using the hospital’s new system in July.  Patients will be treated for  cancers ranging from breast, prostate, head and neck, gastrointestinal, brain, lung and GYN.

With dose delivery rates that are 40–140 percent higher than earlier generations of Linear Accelerator technology, the TrueBeam system can complete a treatment faster on solid adult tumors. This makes it possible to offer greater patient comfort by shortening treatment times, and to improve precision by leaving less time for tumor motion during dose delivery. “Intelligent” automation further speeds treatments with an up to fivefold reduction in the number of steps needed for image guidance and dose delivery.

“TrueBeam makes it possible to deliver accurate image-guided treatments within a few minutes per day. At the same time, we can monitor and compensate for tumor motion, and that further increases treatment accuracy,” said Dr. Zimberg.

The TrueBeam Linear Accelerator can produce the three-dimensional images used to fine-tune tumor targeting in 60 percent less time than previous image-guided technologies. Additional functionality makes it possible to create images using 25 percent less X-ray dosage. “Imaging is an essential part of modern-day, targeted radiotherapy,” said Dr. Zimberg. “This machine allows us to minimize the amount of X-rays needed to generate an image—and that’s good for our patients.”

TrueBeam can be used for many forms of advanced treatments such as image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), including intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), RapidArc® radiotherapy technology and Gated RapidArc. “Each of these approaches is appropriate for a certain type of clinical situation,” said Dr. Zimberg. “With TrueBeam, we can choose the optimal approach for our patients.”

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