Respiratory Gating

Improved accuracy, while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissue, is the goal of radiation therapy treatments. Respiratory gating is a new technology that allows the radiation treatment to be timed to an individual's breathing pattern, thus targeting the tumor only when it is in the best range for treatment. This is particularly important when treating lung and upper gastrointestinal tumors. By monitoring breathing through the treatment planning CT scans as well as treatment sessions, the radiation oncologist can choose the best moment in a patient's breathing cycle to deliver the treatment. This monitoring and compensation for tumor movement allows for tighter treatment margins so more critical structures and healthy tissue can be spared while using higher doses to treat the tumor.

The device sits on top of the patient's chest and checks for movement. The therapist can see that movement on the monitor while it records the rise and fall of the chest during breathing. The tracking mechanism of the system notifies the therapist when the patient is breathing so the beam is timed to work at the appropriate moment.