(Iowa city) University of Iowa Health Care is the first Medical Center in America using a new technology to treat soft tissue cancer. An upgrade to MR-Linac tracks the tumor in real time, and automatically shuts the radiation beam on and off when a patient breathes or moves slightly. That allows it to more accurately target the tumor, and reduces excessive radiation exposure for the patient.
MR-Linac, which is used in fewer than 100 places in the world, provides continuous imaging that allows care teams to monitor the position of the tumor throughout the entire treatment. With the addition of comprehensive motion management, doctors can now make sure the beam is off when the target tumor has moved out of position.
UI Health Care has treated both pediatric patients and adults using comprehensive motion management, and this technology has primarily been focused on tumors in the abdomen and thorax.
