A New Approach to Image-Guided Radiation Therapy

RapidArc™ radiotherapy technology is a breakthrough technology for delivering fast, precise cancer treatments, offering new hope to people battling cancer. KCUC’s Radiation Treatment Center is proud to be Kansas City’s first provider of RapidArc and the only office-based provider.

RapidArc is delivered with a medical linear accelerator, which is a large machine that generates high-powered X-rays and rotates around you as you lie on a treatment couch, delivering the beams from many angles. With RapidArc, the entire treatment is completed with a single rotation of the machine.

RapidArc is a new approach to delivering image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT). Image guidance improves tumor targeting, and IMRT shapes the radiation dose so that it conforms closely to the three-dimensional shape of the tumor. That means more radiation is delivered to the tumor and less to surrounding healthy tissues.

The treatments are fast. That makes it easier on you—you don’t have to hold still for long, and you’re in and out in a matter of minutes each day. With RapidArc, IMRT treatments that typically require at least 10 minutes can be completed in less than 2 minutes.

A RapidArc radiotherapy system incorporates technology that makes it possible for your treatment team to position you for treatment with sub-millimeter accuracy. An On-Board Imager® kV imaging system mounted on the treatment machine provides high-resolution X-ray images of the targeted area just before each daily treatment.

The Benefits of RapidArc

  • Faster treatments are easier on you.
  • More radiation reaches the tumor and less affects surrounding healthy tissues.
  • System provides high-resolution X-ray images just before treatment for greater accuracy.