August 16, 2010 – Cone Beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a common tool used by many cancer care centers for patient setup; however, it does not track patient position changes that can occur during treatment. The ExacTrac Infrared Monitoring ceiling-mounted device tracks the patient position throughout treatment delivery, giving clinicians more confidence for targeted radiation treatment. Brainlab announced the availability of ExacTrac Infrared Monitoring, an add-on device to existing treatment machines for monitoring patient positioning during radiation therapy treatments.
A small shift from the initial patient setup can result in damage to normal tissue surrounding the tumor. The Brainlab technology uses infrared tracking to continually monitor the patient’s position and check the reference position. ExacTrac Infrared Monitoring can be used during treatment of a wide range of indications, including cranial, head and neck, prostate, lung, liver and spine.
The system works with most linear accelerators and can be easily upgraded to the full ExacTrac system. ExacTrac offers high-resolution stereoscopic X-ray imaging that targets tumors and corrects patient positioning with sub-millimeter precision in a quick and automated two-minute setup.
