Texas Oncology Brings Safer, Tattooless Radiation Therapy to Houston
OVERVIEW
Institution Type: Freestanding cancer center
SGRT System: AlignRT and SimRT
Years with system: 2 years
Linac: Varian TrueBeam
Cancer types treated: DIBH and Free-breathing Breast,
Prostate, SBRT Lung
GOALS
Texas Oncology’s (TXO) mission focuses on delivering advanced, compassionate cancer care that puts the patient first. In line with this goal, they sought a solution that would improve treatment precision, reduce unnecessary radiation exposure, and enhance overall patient comfort―without compromising on speed or efficiency.
SAFETY
TXO wanted an SGRT solution to elevate their quality assurance process with real-time monitoring to catch even subtle patient movement before or during treatment.
EFFICIENCY
To manage patient volume, TXO needed a technology that could integrate quickly and scale efficiently while also reducing time during simulation and setup.
PATIENT COMFORT
TXO wanted their patients to avoid having permanent skin marks, without the constant reminder of cancer treatments.
SOLUTION
Texas Oncology adopted AlignRT for its real-time, surface-guided radiation therapy capabilities, with the support of Vision RT’s Clinical Applications Team. Within a few months, they fully integrated AlignRT into their workflows, including:
TATTOO AND MARK-FREE TREATMENT
Introduced markerless workflows using AlignRT, allowing patients to avoid permanent skin marks while also reducing time during simulation and setup.
POSTURAL VIDEO
The Postural Video module became a critical part of daily workflow, allowing therapists to visually confirm alignment in real time.
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Phase training program by Vision RT’s Clinical Application Specialist allowed for consistency and protocol standardization for the entire team – Radiation Oncologist, Physicist, and Radiation Therapists.
RESULTS
REDUCED TREATMENT TIMES
AlignRT has helped reduce treatment times 50% – from 20 minutes to 10 minutes
TATTOO & MARK-FREE TREATMENTS
Tattoo and mark-free treatment has helped reduce setup time by 50%
REDUCED RE-IMAGING
Re-imaging rates have reduced 75%
INCREASED PATIENT VOLUME
Increased referrals from Vision RT Awareness Campaign
“Our patients love tattoo-free radiation. It is non-invasive & painless. It is more comfortable. It improves cosmesis. And it avoids that permanent reminder of cancer treatment. Our therapists also love tattoo-free radiation because it improves setup accuracy and reproducibility.”
L. Andy Chen, M.D., Ph.D. Radiation Oncologist Texas Oncology
“Postural Video is a highly relied on aid to cross-reference setup by allowing us to match specific areas of the body to increase treatment accuracy. This has decreased treatment times by allowing our therapists to match/confirm patient setup in real time and with less radiation exposure.”
Jessica Ikner, R.T. (T) Chief Radiation Therapist Texas Oncology
FUTURE PLANS
Texas Oncology was recognized as an SGRT Champion for innovative excellence, technologic advancements, and rigorous adherence to the premier standards of SGRT
practices.
They plan to expand their referral network throughout the Houston area with support from Vision RT’s Patient Education Toolkit for social media and educational content to raise awareness among referring physicians and patients.
Get in touch
Ready to take the next step?
Vision RT’s family of SGRT solutions guide radiation therapy for better patient care at every step: Sim, Planning, Treatment and Dose. Whether you’re looking for a quote, a product demo (virtual or in-person) or just more information, please get in touch.