ST. VINCENT'S HOSPITAL OFFERS CANCER PATIENTS FASTER, ULTRA-PRECISE RADIATION USING NEW Rapid Arc TECHNOLOGY
12/05/2008
More Precise and Faster Therapy Will Allow Patients to Resume Daily Activities Within Minutes
Contact: Mary Mooney
(212) 604-2675
New York, NY - October 23, 2008 - St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center Manhattan announced today that it has installed the RapidArc radiotherapy system, a revolutionary radiotherapy technology that will provide patients with a faster, more precise form of radiation. St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center is the first in Manhattan to offer RapidArc treatment. The new technology is eighty percent faster than conventional radiation.
The innovative RapidArc therapy system delivers image-guided IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) in a single 360-degree rotation around the patient. During a RapidArc treatment the radiation beam is continually shaped and reshaped according to the size, shape, and position of the tumor within the body. As a result, the delivery of radiation is dramatically faster; treatments that once took twenty minutes will now take only four minutes.
'RapidArc will be much easier on the patient,' said John Rescigno, M.D., Radiation Oncologist at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center. 'It's difficult for the patient to hold still for long periods of time and by delivering the dose more quickly and accurately, we can simultaneously improve the quality of care and make our patients more comfortable.'
The beam shaping is accomplished using a multi-leaf collimator (MLC), which is a device with 120 computer-controlled mechanical 'leaves' or 'fingers' that move to create apertures of different shapes and sizes. During a RapidArc treatment, specialized software algorithms vary three parameters simultaneously: the speed of rotation around the patient, the shape of the MLC aperture, and the dose delivery rate. Sophisticated treatment plans, generated by computer on the basis of each patient's unique anatomy and tumor size, shape, and position within the body, guide the treatments. RapidArc is manufactured by Varian Medical Systems.
'We're very pleased to be able to offer patients this exciting new treatment option,' added Dr. Rescigno. 'RapidArc technology is enabling us to target some types of cancer very accurately while sparing healthy tissue. It is a powerful additional weapon in the cancer fighting arsenal, and will enable selected patients to receive image-guided precision much more quickly than was possible before.'
About Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent's) is anchored by St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, an academic medical center located in Greenwich Village and the only emergency room on the Westside of Manhattan from Midtown to Tribeca, St. Vincent's Westchester, a behavioral health hospital in Westchester County, and continuing care services that include two skilled nursing facilities in Brooklyn, another on Staten Island, a hospice, and a home health agency serving the Metropolitan New York area. Its behavioral health services also provide supportive housing programs for people with mental illness throughout the Metropolitan area. Saint Vincent's is the designated provider for the New York and New Jersey region of the US Family Health Plan sponsored by the US Department of Defense.
Saint Vincent's serves as the academic medical center of New York Medical College in New York City. The healthcare organization is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn and the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York.
About St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center
SVCCC is an academic cancer center and teaching facility, featuring some of the nation's most accomplished cancer specialists, offers the latest treatments and maintains an active clinical research program. SVCCC provides individualized, comprehensive cancer care to patients. Teams of highly skilled professionals assist patients with every aspect of cancer care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The challenges faced by people with cancer and their families are met with a full range of complementary support services. Treatment is available 24/7/365, with an expert nursing staff that helps patients manage issues with their therapies.
