ExacTrac® - Surface Guidance Radiation Therapy (SGRT) Deep Inspiration Breath Hold
(DIBH) for Treating Breast Cancer
Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) Regional Cancer Center (RCC) Radiation
Oncology at Mary Washington Hospital is proud to offer ExacTrac® – Advanced Surface-Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) for highly precise
breast cancer treatment.
Radiation therapy is a primary form of breast cancer treatment. Many breast
cancer patients will require radiation therapy during some phase of their
cancer care. A treatment team comprised of a radiation oncologist, registered
radiation therapists, oncology nurses, a medical physicist and a dosimetrist
work together to ensure the most effective treatment for each patient.
Radiation Oncology at Mary Washington Hospital now offers an advanced
treatment approach called ExacTrac® Surface-Guided Radiation Therapy or SGRT.
With ExacTrac® SGRT Mary Washington Hospital offers breast patients:
Painless treatment performed on an outpatient basis
Treatment delivery in minutes
Treatment that adapts to minor movements, tracks the patient’s breath
hold, and minimizes potential treatment errors
Precise treatment, minimizing radiation damage to normal tissue (heart and lung)
The Technology and Treatment
ExacTrac® SGRT enables physicians to deliver treatment to breast patients
with great accuracy and potentially improved patient outcomes. Traditionally,
small shifts in patient movement or radiation beam alignment could result
in damage to healthy lung or heart tissue. ExacTrac® SGRT technology
decreases the chance of this damage by using high-resolution x-rays, thermal
detection, and surface guidance to position the patient for treatment,
track patient movement and monitor the breath hold.
This feature is called Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH).
The patient breath hold is recorded during their planning session prior
to treatment. The recording of the breath hold during treatment is seen
by both the patient and the radiation therapists delivering the treatment.
If the patient moves or loses the breath hold, the surface guidance will
detect the change in body position and interrupt treatment so that movement
or breath hold can be corrected for treatment to proceed.
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