The Cheng Ching General Hospital in Taiwan has become the first hospital in the region to use the TrueBeam STx system for image-guided radiosurgery to treat liver cancer patients.
The new TrueBeam STx, developed by Varian Medical Systems, is designed to coordinate imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery.
Cheng Ching General Hospital chief radiation oncologist Dr. Po-Ming Wang said TrueBeam STx aids in generating images of the tumour during the treatment.
"This helps us to better target the liver tumour and minimise exposure of nearby critical organs like the duodenum or the stomach," Dr. Wang added.
Varian claims that the TrueBeam STx is a high-end model optimised for radiosurgical applications where high doses are delivered in a single treatment or in a few sessions.
The new system will continue to enable intensity-modulated radiotherapy and RapidArc treatments, and its Gated RapidArc capabilities enable a patient’s breathing to be monitored and compensate for tumour motion during RapidArc treatments.
Cheng Ching General Hospital superintendent Professor King-Jen Chang said, "Our multidisciplinary team will use our TrueBeam STx machine to treat all forms of cancer, especially those that involve tumour motion during treatment, like cancer of the liver and lung."