TrueBeam is an advanced radiotherapy system that opens up treatment options for some of the most complex cancers in the head and neck, lung, prostate, breast, abdomen and liver. The TrueBeam system’s advanced imaging and powerful treatment modes allow doctors to tailor treatments specific to your particular cancer.

Treatments with TrueBeam are fast, allowing for reduced chances of tumor motion during treatment, which helps protect nearby healthy tissue and critical organs. Most can be given in just minutes a day. Treatments that once took 10 to 30 minutes can now be completed in less than two minutes.

The TrueBeam system can generate three-dimensional images used to fine-tune tumor targeting. These images can be used to fine-tune a patient’s position before and during treatment.

Patient Benefits

  • TrueBeam is a powerful system that opens up treatment options for complex cancers
  • TrueBeam is fast and precise
  • TrueBeam was developed to address patient comfort

TrueBeam radiotherapy is not appropriate for all cancers. Serious side effects, including fatigue and skin irritation, can occur. Treatment times may vary.

TrueBeam was also designed to enhance the patient experience. Thanks to an advanced communications system, the therapist running the system can be in constant contact with you. It’s almost as if they are there in the treatment room with you. And as part of this enhancement, TrueBeam has feature that play music during treatment. With shorter treatment times and quieter operation, TrueBeam provides for a more comfortable environment for patients.

How Does It Work?

TrueBeam combines imaging, beam delivery, and sophisticated motion management to accurately and precisely target tumors with speed.

  • TrueBeam rotates around the patient to deliver a prescribed radiation dose from nearly any angle.
  • An accessory called a multi-leaf collimator (or MLC) shapes the beam. It has 120 computer-controlled “leaves” or “fingers” that create apertures of different shapes and sizes. The leaves sculpt the beam to match the 3-D shape of the tumor. These can move and change during treatment to target the tumor and minimize dose to the surrounding healthy tissue.
  • TrueBeam uses a cone-beam CT that uses 25 percent less of an X-ray dose than other image-guided technologies, exposing patients to less radiation.
  • Real-time imaging tools allow clinicians to see the tumor they are about to treat. This gives them confidence, and they can target tumors with accuracy measured in millimeters.
  • The system includes a new gated option for synchronizing beam delivery with respiration. This helps maintain accuracy as the system changes its targeting whenever tumor motion is an issue, for example, during lung cancer treatments.
  • TrueBeam can be used for many forms of advanced treatment techniques including image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and RapidArc radiotherapy technology. Because of this, patients can receive the treatment that is best suited for their specific clinical circumstances.

Call the Cancer Institute today for more information at 865-305-9040.