Piedmont offers the most innovative and technologically advanced external beam radiation treatments available in the world today. Treatment planning is based on 4-dimensional images obtained from a CT scanner designed specifically for radiation oncology. Radiation treatments are custom designed for each patient.
The linear accelerators, or treatment machines, have a variety of advanced features which allow the radiation oncologists to focus on the area of interest with sub-millimeter accuracy to minimize side effects and achieve the best treatment results. Image guidance and cone beam CT enable the treatment team to take real-time images of the tumor immediately before treatment. These images confirm the exact location of the tumor before the radiation is delivered. Respiratory gating adapts treatment delivery to match a patient's breathing. The linacs only deliver treatment during a specified phase of the patient's breathing cycle so that margins can be extremely tight and avoid critical surrounding tissue. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy deliver high levels of radiation to the area specified by the physician and spare critical surrounding areas to minimize side effects. RapidArcGäó reduces the time of standard treatment delivery to less than five minutes.
For more information watch the video:
An Introduction to External Beam Radiation Therapy