Enhancing Head and Neck Treatments: The Impact of AlignRT at Lincoln County Hospital
At Lincoln County Hospital, the implementation of AlignRT’s SGRT has not only transformed treatment processes but has also vastly enhanced the radiotherapy journey for patients. Conversations with both patients undergoing head and neck treatments and staff members highlight SGRT as an indispensable tool, offering unparalleled benefits in terms of comfort, efficiency, and precision.
Introducing Open-Face Masks
The neck is a complex treatment site for radiation therapy in several ways. For these therapies, a patient’s position needs to be reproduced accurately to ensure effective treatments and minimize side effects to critical organs. Historically, patients undergoing head and neck treatments wore full-face masks to accomplish this. Now, thanks to SGRT with AlignRT, there’s another way to treat these patients – open face masks.
Empowering Patients: A Shift in Experience
Alyson, a patient at Lincoln County Hospital, recounts her earlier appointments and shared her relief at learning about the open-face mask. She said, “When I had that appointment, they explained that my nose and eyes would be left out, and that gave me a bit more reassurance and comfort. I felt better knowing that I wasn’t going to have a full-face mask… I could actually see properly and breathe.”
Patrick, another patient, echoed these sentiments. He said, “They said it was going to be an open-face mask. And I was like, well, that’s great… You’ve got your eyes there and your nose is free. So, in terms of breathing, it’s great.” The introduction of the open-face mask has been a game-changer, offering immense relief, allowing her to breathe freely and feel more at ease during treatments.
Advanced Technology for Enhanced Accuracy
Jacob Curran, SABR & Motion Management Radiographer at Lincoln County Hospital, leads the SGRT integration project and highlights the substantial progress this technique brings in enhancing accuracy and improving patient care. For him, “Radiotherapy is all about striking up a balance between comfort and accuracy. This technique represents a significant step forward for both, and I am thrilled to be able to offer it to our patients.”
AlignRT empowers patients, particularly those with claustrophobia, by offering another option for treatment. Senior Dosimetrist Nicola highlights this positive impact: “Historically, if a patient was claustrophobic, a big deal was made out of it, but now it doesn’t have to be.” Nicole goes on to say “Pretty much 99% of all our head and neck shells are open-face, and it’s a massive relief for them. Overall, it’s been really, really positive. I can’t see that we would ever go back. It’s just, it could only move forward.“
SGRT isn’t just improving the patient experience; it’s also streamlining workflows for radiographers. Elaine, a Treatment Radiographer, describes the transition to SGRT as a game-changer, “It very quickly became apparent that it worked well…giving us a better indication of patient positioning.” With SGRT, the team can make real-time adjustments, ensuring precision without manual handling. Reflecting on how they used to do treatments, she said, “Years spent trying to adjust a patient using a tiny tattoo, and you get that realization of how pointless that is when you can use a whole contour.”
Echoing these sentiments, Therapeutic Radiographer Jaymi emphasized the significant efficiency gains facilitated by AlignRT. “It’s been really good overall…it’s made treatment times a quicker, set up especially, it’s all quicker now.” He further emphasized the patient benefits: “I feel like it’s a good impact on the patients because they spend less time on the couch now. It enables us to be able to actually see the pitch, the roll rotation, etc., before you actually go image.
The team at Lincoln County Hospital also utilizes Postural Video for real-time guidance to provide clear positional guidance in real-time, making patient setup and correction even faster. Student Therapeutic Radiographer Joshua explains: “You’ve also got the benefit of being able to track promotion of the patients while you’re treating them… so you can be more accurate with treatments.”
By harnessing advanced technology, Lincoln County Hospital has transformed treatment processes, prioritizing patient comfort and treatment precision