FeedbackJohn Muir Health provides state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and advanced treatment options including:
RapidArc®
John Muir Health is the only cancer care provider in Contra Costa County to offer RapidArc® with the Varian Trilogy linear accelerator. This delivers highly- precise IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) with a single revolution (arc) of the machine in approximately 80 seconds vs. the standard 30 minute treatment delivery time. Faster treatments allow for greater precision since there is less chance of patient or tumor movement during treatment delivery.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
John Muir Health is the first Radiation Oncology Program in Northern California to provide stereotactic radiosurgery using the Novalis® with micro-multileaf collimation. Physicians can target tumors with high precision, greatly reducing the amount of radiation to normal tissue and critical structures. This is a non-surgical outpatient treatment, using a frameless technique for a variety of cancerous and non-cancerous conditions.
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
Due to the highly precise capabilities of the Novalis and Trilogy linear accelerators, patients can receive higher tumor doses per treatment because less normal tissue is irradiated.
Robotic Couch
The Novalis robotic couch allows precise positioning of a patient due to six degrees of motion, thus allowing us to more precisely align a tumor within the radiation beam's pathway than is possible with conventional linear-accelerator treatment couches.
Respiratory Gating
This technology uses a computerized system to treat tumors that move during respiration. The radiation beam is turned on when the tumor is in the beam path and turns off when the tumor moves outside its path.
Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT)
This technology uses imaging techniques to localize the tumor on a daily basis, increasing treatment precision.
- Cone Beam CT (CBCT): This technology uses CT images obtained on the linear accelerator on a daily basis and compares them to the treatment planning CT. The patient is then precisely moved into the correct position for treatment.
- ExacTrac® Robotics by Brainlab: This system uses stereoscopic x-ray images which are fused to the computerized treatment plan on a daily basis. Utilizing internal anatomy, the fully automated 6-dimensional system shifts the patient into the correct position for treatment.
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
This treatment utilizes computer-controlled linear accelerators to modulate the intensity of the radiation beam, allowing physicians to give a higher radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding normal tissues and sensitive structures.
Brachytherapy (HDR/LDR):
Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy that places radioactive sources in or adjacent to target tissues. There are two types of brachytherapy and both are available at John Muir Health.
- Permanent seed implants (LDR-Low Dose Rate): Small radioactive seeds are inserted directly into the prostate gland. The seeds are temporarily radioactive and deliver radiation to the prostate over several weeks.
- Temporary implants (HDR-High Dose Rate): Radioactive sources are placed in catheters, needles, or other appliances for a brief period of time and then removed.
Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation (APBI)
Radiation is delivered to the tumor site twice a day for five days, sparing normal breast tissue. This technique is available to a select group of patients based on specific prognostic indicators.
Wide Bore 4D CT Scanner
The wide bore 16 slice, 4D CT scanner will accommodate larger patients and provide the most accurate means to treat patients with respiratory gated technology.
