Surface guided radiotherapy

Surface guided radiotherapy is a tattoo-free radiotherapy alternative that uses advanced camera technology to facilitate 3D tracking of the skin’s surface during set-up and treatment.

What is surface guided radiotherapy?

Surface guided radiotherapy (SGRT) is a tattoo-free alternative for patients who require radiotherapy.

Traditional radiotherapy requires patients to receive very small but permanent tattoos on their skin around the treatment site. These tattoos help to position the patient correctly and deliver treatment to the right location. SGRT uses advanced camera technology to track and monitor patients during set-up and treatment, eliminating the need for permanent tattooing or other temporary markings on the skin.

This technique also provides thousands of reference points on a patient’s skin, allowing us to precisely track movements in real-time during treatment. This ensures radiation is delivered safely and to sub-millimetre accuracy. Safety is further enhanced by the system’s auto-pause feature, which automatically pauses treatment if a patient moves outside of a safe position during treatment.

SGRT treatment sessions are typically shorter than traditional radiotherapy sessions, as the set-up process can be completed more quickly.

AlignRT®

AlignRT® is a technology suite that enables the delivery of tattoo-free SGRT. The system uses advanced camera technology to track the patient’s skin surface in three dimensions during set-up and treatment, making it possible to deliver radiation safely and accurately without the need for permanent tattoos or other temporary markings on the patient’s skin. The system is fully integrated with the linear accelerator (treatment machine), enabling faster set up and shorter treatment times for patients.

Breast cancer

Traditional radiation therapy for breast cancer requires patients to receive very small but permanent tattoos on their chest. These tattoos help the radiation therapist position the patient correctly and deliver treatment to the right location. For some patients, these tattoos are ongoing, unwanted reminders of their cancer treatment. If you have radiation therapy to the breast, it’s important to ensure the radiation reaches the right place throughout the course of treatment, while avoiding vital organs such as the heart.

SGRT uses advanced camera technology to track and monitor patients during set-up and treatment, removing the need for patients to receive permanent tattoos or other temporary markings on the skin. The platform’s auto-pause functionality and high degree of accuracy also support the safe delivery of advanced radiation therapy techniques for breast cancer patients, including Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH).

SGRT is particularly suitable for all patients undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer.