The Diagnostic Imaging and Cancer Treatment Center at Texas A&M is a state of the art facility with diagnostic and treatment capabilities never before possible in one location. The facility is fully equipped with a Tomotherapy Unit, a CT Scanner, and a 3 Tesla MRI Unit.
Tomotherapy can be used to treat many cancers, some of which would have been difficult or unsafe to treat with conventional radiation. Tomotherapy is a quick and painless process, with daily treatments that usually take about 20 minutes.
Tomotherapy combines state-of-the art intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with the precision of computed tomography (CT) scanning technology. Radiation oncologists create detailed three-dimensional maps of the size and location of a tumor and use these images to plot the tumor’s exact contours, the surrounding organs, and sensitive tissue. Then they prescribe the dose of radiation the tumor should receive. Based on the prescription, the tomotherapy system programs the appropriate pattern for the treatment, calculating the precise position and intensity of the radiation beams.