Computer-controlled table could direct radiotherapy to tumors while sparing vital organs
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 22:30
in Health & Medicine
Swivelling patients around on a computer-controlled, rotating table could deliver high doses of radiotherapy to tumors more quickly than current methods, while sparing vulnerable organs such as the heart, brain, eyes and bowel. Sophisticated computer modelling could be used to slowly move the table -- known as a couch -- and a radiation source in three dimensions to direct radiation precisely to the patient's tumor, researchers have suggested.