What is Intensity modulated radiation therapy?
IMRT is a ‘conformal’ radiation therapy. This means radiation beams are shaped to surround the treatment area, with the aim to help minimise the risk of damaging surrounding healthy tissue.
How is treatment usually delivered?
Known as a linear accelerator (or LINAC) machine. It’s is very similar to a regular X-ray machine.
- The LINAC has a device called a ‘multileaf collimator’. This is made up of thin ‘leaves’. The leaves can be moved independently to create precise shapes around the treatment area
- Before IMRT treatment, we use scanning technology to create a 3D image of the tumour. This means that we can precisely treat the size, shape and location of the cancer
- Our doctors can shape the radiation beam and alter its intensity to target the tumour as the machine rotates
- We’ll carefully plan your treatment using the scan images and computer-aided calculations to identify the exact dose of radiation needed
- The tumour is targeted with a very high dose of radiation. Healthy surrounding tissue receives a much lower dose, reducing the risk of side-effects
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