Kegunaan Linac

What is this equipment used for?

A linear accelerator (LINAC) is the device most commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer. The linear accelerator can also be used in stereotactic radiosurgery similar to that achieved using the gamma knife on targets within the brain. The linear accelerator is used to treat all parts/organs of the body. It delivers a uniform dose of high-energy x-ray to the region of the patient's tumor. These x-rays can destroy the cancer cells while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. The LINAC is used to treat all body sites with cancer and used in not only external beam radiation therapy, but also for Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. A linear accelerator is also used for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) (www.RadiologyInfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=imrt), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) (www.RadiologyInfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=igrt), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Stereotactic Body Radio Therapy (SBRT) (www.RadiologyInfo.org/en/info.cfm? pg=stereotactic).

What is Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy and how is it used?

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy that utilizes computer-controlled linear accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a malignant tumor or specific areas within the tumor. IMRT allows for the radiation dose to conform more precisely to the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the tumor by modulatingor controllingthe intensity of the radiation beam in multiple small volumes. IMRT also allows higher radiation doses to be focused to regions within the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding normal critical structures. Treatment is carefully planned by using 3-D computed tomography (CT) images of the patient in conjunction with computerized dose calculations to determine the dose intensity pattern that will best conform to the tumor shape. Typically, combinations of several intensity-modulated fields coming from different beam directions produce a custom tailored radiation dose that maximizes tumor dose while also minimizing the dose to adjacent normal tissues.

What is Image-Guided Radiation Therapy and how is it used?

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) is the use of frequent imaging during a course of radiation therapy to improve the precision and accuracy of the delivery the treatment. In IGRT, machines that deliver radiation, such as a linear accelerator, are equipped with imaging technology so that the physician can image the tumor immediately before or even during the time radiation is delivered, while the patient is positioned on the treatment table. Using specialized computer software, these images are then compared to the images taken during simulation. Any necessary adjustments are then made to the patient's position and/or radiation beams in order to more precisely target radiation at the tumor and avoid healthy surrounding tissue.

What is stereotactic radiosurgery and how is it used?

Stereotactic radiosurgery, also called stereotactic radiotherapy, is a highly precise form of radiation therapy initially used to treat tumors and other abnormalities of the brain. Now radiosurgery is also being used to treat cancer in other parts of the body in a procedure called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Despite its name, stereotactic radiosurgery is a non-surgical procedure that delivers preciselytargeted radiation at much higher doses than traditional radiation therapy while sparing healthy tissue organs nearby.