Image courtesey of Reinhard Wurm M.D. Charité Univ. Hospital

Implemented in Daily Practice

Traditionally, focused dose delivery to tumors subject to respiration-induced movement was either based on assumptions of the consistency of a patient's breathing pattern or included significant margins for target motion.

Today, Adaptive Gating visualizes the exact location of a moving target in real-time, enabling respiration-triggered dose delivery.



Key Features

	Automatic detection of patient breathing

• Combination of x-ray imaging and infrared tracking enables correlation of internal tumor motion with the patient‘s breathing cycle
• 3-dimensional detection of tumor motion enables precise dose delivery to moving targets
• Published millimeter set-up accuracy
• User-defined gating window allows adjustment for specific treatment margins
• Permits dose escalation protocols beyond those possible with standard positioning
• Infrared-triggered gating reduces imaging dose compared to fluoro approaches
• Robotic 6D set-up of target for gated delivery, including translation and rotation
• Automatic beam triggering of most Varian linacs through linac-specific interface
• Verification images possible at any time during treatment delivery for highest clinical confidence

Key Benefits

	Automatic beam gating with x-ray verification images

• Significant reduction of margins for target motion while maintaining uniform dose distribution to the tumor
• Much more normal tissue may be spared from radiation, leading to reduced side effects and better treatment outcomes
• Therapist-controlled software interface moderates physician involvement
• Fully automatic dose delivery improves clinical efficiency
• Clinically established solution for increased confidence
• Free breathing during treatment does not require the patient to breathe in a given fashion