Above, a reclining patient about to receive RapidArc™ radiotherapy is positioned carefully beneath the radiation source. Exact positioning on the treatment couch is vital to ensure that high-dose radiation beams target only the tumor and avoid surrounding healthy tissue. This helps skilled specialists deliver subsequent daily treatments to the tumor with pinpoint precision.

The linear accelerator above rotates 360 degrees around a patient lying on the treatment table. In one rotation, the RapidArc™ system delivers high-powered radiation beams at the tumor from many angles. This allows clinicians, who direct the treatment with leading-edge computer technology from an adjacent monitoring room, to conform the radiation dose to the tumor’s three-dimensional shape. Treatments that require as much as 30 minutes on conventional systems now can be completed in less than two minutes, adding significantly to the patient’s comfort and allowing more patients to be seen.