Published: Synapse 2015 Vol. 2
As part of Penn Medicine, our patients have access to the most advanced treatment options and radiotherapy technologies. Within the past year, Chester County Hospital added a new CT Simulator that generates a computerized tomography (CT) scan to precisely design a treatment plan for a patient's cancer, sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. The CT Simulator features a movable LAP (Laser Applications) system for exact tumor marking. This is required for consistency throughout the entire course of the treatment plan.
During a radiation session, the Varian RPM (Real Time Position Management) system's infrared camera and positioning block provides for the detailed imaging and treatment of cancers in the upper abdominal sites, including lung and liver. This infrared technology allows the Radiation Oncology team to visualize the tumor's movement throughout the patient's natural breathing rhythm.
One such therapy is High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy, where a miniscule radioactive source is positioned in the body in close proximity to the cancer site for a brief period of time to deliver high doses of radiation.
Because Radiation Oncology is a science of exactness, today's technology accommodates for natural patient movements - breathing, sneezing, yawning - and the radiation beam is only engaged when the targets are all aligned precisely. To keep patient movement to a minimum during transition from the stretcher to the table, the therapist carefully uses the Zephyr Patient Positioning and Transfer System, which is like a hovercraft that uses air to easily lift the table and patient at the same time.
The Radiation Oncology technologies are complemented by a suite of therapies, such as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), for example, as well as the expertise of our interdisciplinary team of compassionate nurses, therapists, physicists, dosimetrists, social workers and board-certified doctors.