Linear Accelerator

New technology at Huntsman/Intermountain Cancer Care Center: Linear accelerators pinpoint where cancer cells end and healthy cells begin

Cutting-edge linear accelerators will benefit patients by helping medical experts deliver enough radiation to a moving tumor to eliminate it while minimizing the amount of healthy tissue that's exposed to the radiation.

Why linear accelerators are important and how they work

The technology is incredibly important because cancer tumors and lesions don't stay in the exact same place after each radiation therapy session. When a patient gains or loses weight or experiences other physical changes, organs can shift even slightly. So it's imperative that before each treatment, physicians can identify exactly where cancerous cells end and healthy cells begin.

Intermountain Medical Center's two kinds of linear accelerators help doctors locate and target moving tumors with unprecedented accuracy. A brief description of each model:

• The Varian IX linear accelerator is image-guided, which means it uses both x-ray and cone-beam CAT scan technology to search for the cancer. Previous versions of linear accelerators don't have integrated x-ray imaging, which doesn't allow real-time localization of the target.
• The Varian Trilogy linear accelerator does everything the IX linear accelerator does, and it offers cutting edge stereotactic radio surgery, which is specifically designed to seek out and treat small targets in areas outside the head.

What a cancer patient can expect during linear accelerator treatment

When a patient comes to the Jon and Karen Huntsman Cancer Center for treatment, they will enter a large room and a technologist will show them where to lie down. As the patient gazes toward the ceiling, they'll see a beautiful backlit picture of natural scenery. Once they're in place, an X-ray system on robotic arms slides into place on either side of the patient's body, and then rotates around them and takes pictures to pinpoint the exact location of the cancer.

In a room next door, doctors and technologists monitor computer systems to match previous patient pictures to these new ones, checking to see if the tumor has moved. If it has, the technology will specify the new location of where the radiation beam needs to go. With the push of a button, the patient is adjusted on the couch and positioned for radiation treatment.

Intermountain Medical Center's linear accelerators allow more precise radiation treatment, which improves patient outcomes and saves lives.