Ridgeview Regional Radiation Oncology has started treating cancer patients with RapidArc™ radiotherapy technology, a fast, precise form of treatment using advanced technology from Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
The new RapidArc treatment is up to eight times faster than conventional forms of radiotherapy, making it more comfortable for patients and allowing them to spend much less time in the clinic for daily treatments. Ridgeview is the first site in Minnesota, and one of only 15 sites nationwide and 70 worldwide, to offer this breakthrough technology. We believe that others will follow quickly because this is the best cancer treatment available.
Ridgeview Regional Radiation Oncology is an early adaptor of this breakthrough technology, and has been planning this implementation since it was introduced to the market approximately a year ago. The time was right for Ridgeview to leverage this cutting-edge technology because the organization just built a new radiation oncology facility. Ridgeview's total scope of technology and services is more expansive than what is typically offered at a hospital of our size (see Ridgeview Facts at a Glance).
RapidArc radiotherapy treatment delivers a tumor-targeting beam with unprecedented speed and precision. The radiotherapy is delivered with just a single rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. During that rotation, the treatment beam is continually shaped and reshaped according to the particular size, shape and position of the tumor within the body. This volumetric modulated arc therapy differs from existing techniques because it delivers doses to the whole tumor volume, rather than slice by slice. And the treatment planning algorithm ensures the high precision, which helps to spare a patient's normal healthy tissue.
With this new technology, a typical 12-minute radiation appointment is now accomplished in less than two minutes.
Paul W. Sperduto, MD, MAPP, provided the first RapidArc patient treatments at Ridgeview during the week of February 23. “We’re very excited to offer patients this new cancer care option,” Dr. Sperduto says. “RapidArc makes it possible for us to deliver highly precise, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments quickly and with less impact to surrounding healthy tissues. These treatments target tumors accurately while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. Because they’re fast, RapidArc treatments are also easier on the patient. It’s hard for people to hold still for long periods of time. By delivering doses more quickly, we can simultaneously improve the quality of care and make our patients more comfortable.”
Dr. Sperduto is part of Ridgeview Medical Center’s accredited cancer care program, a regional referral resource providing adults in the west-metro area and western Minnesota with compassionate cancer care, using state-of-the-art technology. For more than a decade, the program has received approval, including recent approval with commendation in 2009, from the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer. This status is given only to facilities that have voluntarily committed to providing the highest level of quality cancer care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.
Ridgeview's is one of just 18 approved cancer programs in Minnesota; only about 25 percent of all hospitals in the United States have such approved cancer care programs.