"We are very excited to be able to offer patients this excellent treatment option," says Randy Stevens, M.D., director of radiation oncology at the Hospital.  "RapidArc technology also enables us to provide treatment that spares more healthy tissue from the effects of radiation."

White Plains Hospital Center's RapidArc technology delivers image-guided IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) very quickly, in a single rotation of the treatment machine around the patient. "RapidArc will be much easier on the patient," says Dr. Stevens.  "It's hard for people to hold still for long periods of time.  By delivering doses more quickly, we can simultaneously improve the quality of care and make our patients more comfortable."

The Technology

RapidArc treatments at White Plains Hospital Center will be delivered using a Trilogy® medical linear accelerator from Varian Medical Systems, outfitted with an On-Board Imager® kV imaging system for generating and using images to guide patient placement and treatment delivery.  The linear accelerator rotates around the patient to deliver the radiation treatments from nearly any angle. 

During a RapidArc treatment, the radiation is shaped and reshaped as it is continuously delivered from virtually every angle in a 360-degree revolution around the patient.

The beam shaping will be accomplished using an important accessory called a multi-leaf collimator (MLC), a device with 120 computer-controlled mechanical "leaves" or "fingers" that can move to create apertures of different shapes and sizes.  During a RapidArc treatment, specialized software algorithms will vary three parameters simultaneously: the speed of rotation around the patient, the shape of the MLC aperture, and the dose delivery rate.

 "By reducing the time it takes to deliver IMRT and other precise, sophisticated forms of radiation therapy, RapidArc has the potential to improve the quality of care and cure rates for many types of cancer. It also helps reduce side effects from radiation therapy and improve accessibility to an exciting new type of radiation oncology treatment.  That is a huge win for everybody," says Dr. Stevens. 

White Plains Hospital Center

White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC) is a 292-bed voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high quality, acute health care and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas.  Centers of Excellence include the Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center, The William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center, The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center and The Westchester Orthopedic Institute.  The Hospital has the busiest Emergency Department in Westchester County, treating more than 45,000 patients a year.  White Plains Hospital Center is a seven-time winner of the Consumer Choice Award, an honor given to the nation's top hospitals by the National Research Corporation. WPHC is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and the Stellaris Health Network, Inc.  For additional information, visit www.wphospital.org.