IMRT Radiation Therapy a Potent Weapon Against Cancer

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is one the most powerful cancer treatments, and Loyola University Health System employs extensive safety measures to ensure patients receive the proper doses.

IMRT uses computer-controlled linear accelerators to deliver precise radiation doses to a tumor or areas within a tumor. IMRT focuses high doses within the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding normal tissue.

At Loyola, a team of physicians, therapists and physicists does several levels of checking before treating a patient. For example, the team does a trial run on a "phantom patient" with radiation detectors. This ensures the machine is delivering the proper dose of radiation.

Loyola is one of three hospitals in Illinois, and the only academic medical center, to be accredited by the American College of Radiology. The accreditation assesses the qualifications of personnel, policies and procedures, equipment specifications, quality assurance activities, patient safety and quality of patient care.

Loyola is inspected by the State of Illinois twice a year to ensure the hospital meets state regulations on radiation use. Staff is licensed by the state. And calibrations on linear accelerators are evaluated annually by the Radiological Physics Center.

The Department of Radiation Oncology has a comprehensive quality assurance program that includes tests on equipment and software on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.