January 7, 2009

TomoTherapy® Hi-Art Revolutionizes Cancer Care in Northwestern New Jersey

Saint Clare’s Health System Enhances Its Advanced Cancer Program

Saint Clare’s Health System announced recently that it will now offer TomoTherapy® Hi-Art treatment, the most advanced radiation treatment process for cancer, to patients at its outpatient cancer center at Saint Clare’s Hospital/Dover. The advanced cancer treatment technique is less invasive than other methods, and can help early-stage patients with head/neck, breast, lung, prostate and other forms of cancer.

Conventional radiation treatment devices are at the end of an evolutionary path that began more than a century ago. The TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® treatment system integrates CT imaging and helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of radiation treatment for the full range of cancer tumors.

“With only a handful of New Jersey facilities offering TomoTherapy treatment, Saint Clare’s is very pleased to introduce this new, highly-precise radiation treatment technology to patients in the northwestern New Jersey area,” said Jamie Bachman, Saint Clare’s Service Line Leader for Oncology. "This new technology is latest phase of Saint Clare’s continued enhancement to its Cancer Care at Saint Clare’s program and services, and reflects our commitment to provide the most advanced treatments possible to the communities we serve.

The TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® treatment system mounts the linear accelerator (the device which delivers the radiation treatment) on a ring gantry, allowing for a 360° radiation treatment, and marries it with fully-integrated, three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) imaging. This advance gives clinicians the ability to better focus radiation beams, and the flexibility to adapt daily treatment based on shifting targets and changing patient anatomy.

Conventional radiation therapy machines use 5-9 beam angles. The Hi-Art treatment system delivers radiation continuously from all angles around the patient, and features patented beam-shaping technology created specifically for IMRT. More beam angles, plus more precise beam delivery, creates more targeted dose distributions that conform to complex tumor shapes like never before.

As an all-in-one solution, the Hi-Art system facilitates the first fully-integrated treatment process for radiation therapy. This greatly reduces the number of technical decisions that need to be made, giving clinicians more time to focus on their patients.

Saint Clare’s Dover-based oncology outpatient center is staffed with trained radiation oncologists and support staff who specialize in the TomoTherapy treatment and a full range of services, from screening and diagnostics to advanced treatments and support programs. By offering these advanced treatments, this new technology promises to make treatment easier and more effective for patients who face cancer’s life-threatening challenge.

For more information on TomoTherapy® Hi-Art or any other available treatments, services and programs, call 1-877-SCH-TOMO (1-877-724-8666) or visit www.saintclares.org.

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