Banner Good Sam targets radiosurgery with new stereotactic linear accelerator
 Medical physicist Stephen Sapareto, PhD, demonstrates some of the capabilities of the Novalis TX radiosurgery device at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. |
“The Novalis Tx uses multiple energies that will deliver precise focused radiation to the targeted areas of these tumors with even less damage to the surrounding healthy tissue,” said Stephen Sapareto, PhD, Medical Physics director for Radiation Oncology at Banner Good Samaritan. “It is a very versatile machine and not only will be able to perform a quick CAT scan to precisely align the radiation to a tumor but will treat everything from the smallest tumors for our neurosurgeons to the whole body in support of our bone marrow transplant program. In addition, with a new delivery technology called RapidArc developed by Varian, we will be able to treat patients in about one-third of the time of our other machines.”
There are two advantages to the RapidArc delivery, according to Dr. Sapareto. First, it gives less radiation dose to the areas surrounding the tumors and second, the machine gets the radiation dose in very quickly so there is less chance of patient movement which can compromise the treatment.
Even if the patient does move, the Novalis Tx utilizes an X-ray guidance system that will detect head movement or extreme breathing and can shut off the radiation before it damages healthy tissue. The guidance system also allows the radiation oncologist and neurosurgery team to align the patient much more accurately.
“Because of the speed of dose delivery and the guidance system, the patient does not have to be secured in a head restraint like we used with previous generation machines,” Dr. Sapareto said. “This makes it truly non-invasive, much more comfortable for the patient and allows us to treat the patient with better precision than we’ve ever had.”
The Novalis Tx is part of a $16.1 million commitment by Banner Health to Radiation Oncology and radiosurgery. New linear accelerators have also been installed at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., and at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Ariz., to support sterotactice radiosurgery. Banner Good Samaritan will treat its first patient with the Novalis Tx in early January 2009.
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center has been providing medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. Banner Good Samaritan is owned and operated by Phoenix-based Banner Health, a nonprofit organization, and is a flagship hospital within the system. The hospital was recently named for a ninth year to U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” list for Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Heart and Heart Surgery, and Kidney Disease. Banner Good Samaritan has been recognized as a Magnet facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest honor a hospital can earn for its nursing care and practices.
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