SGRT at Kelsey-Seybold: Advancing Breast Cancer Care with Comfort and Accuracy

Every October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a reminder of the importance of advancing treatment options that not only improve outcomes but also enhance the patient experience. At Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, surface guided radiation therapy (SGRT) is playing a key role in achieving both.

We spoke with members of the Kelsey-Seybold radiation therapy team—including Sebastian Sanchez, Lead Radiation Therapist; Kristen Patel, Radiation Oncology Manager; Yahaira Brito, Alexis Carpenter, Kelli Cook, Phoebe Dinh, and Kelly Williams, all Radiation Therapists—to hear how SGRT is transforming breast care and deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) treatments in their department.

Tattoo-Free Radiation Therapy: Comfort Without Compromise

The team talks about how accuracy remains central to every treatment decision. Traditionally, therapists have relied on tattoos or permanent marks to ensure precise patient positioning. While effective, these marks can serve as a difficult daily reminder of the cancer journey. At Kelsey-Seybold, patient comfort is equally important, which is why the team implemented AlignRT, a non-contact surface-guided radiation therapy system. Using 3D stereo cameras, AlignRT monitors a patient’s skin surface in real-time, enabling sub-millimetric accuracy while reducing the need for permanent marks.

“That level of precision gives both therapists and patients confidence that the treatment is exactly where it needs to be,” explains Alexis.

In a recent clinic study performed by Kelli Cook, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic highlighted the time-saving impact of markless treatments with SGRT:

In comparing tattoo-based versus tattoo-free treatments with SGRT, the team found that average breast treatment times dropped by 45%, while breast DIBH treatments were reduced by 35%.

How Surface Guided Radiation Therapy Saves Time in the Clinic

Traditional radiation therapy setups often require repeated adjustments to align patients correctly, and these extra steps can significantly lengthen treatment sessions. With SGRT, clinics like Kelsey-Seybold are seeing measurable improvements in both efficiency and accuracy. “We can actually visualize when a patient has tissue changes simply by looking at the deformation function in AlignRT,” explains Sebastian Sanchez.

“Using the Postural Video module and alignment deltas, we can verify the patient’s position without repeated setups. What started as a multi-step process became much more streamlined, giving us more confidence while saving time.” The Postural Video module gives therapists a multi-angle, real-time view of the patient’s overall alignment relative to their reference position during setup and monitoring by using an outline of the reference surface and a live video stream of the patient.

Department Manager Kristen agrees: “AlignRT has been a game changer. Once therapists became comfortable with the workflow, treatment times decreased, and the accuracy of patient positioning improved significantly.”

The results speak for themselves. In a single treatment day, setups using marks added up to an average of 32 minutes, compared with just 18 minutes using SGRT. That time savings is equivalent to nearly one additional appointment slot, demonstrating how SGRT not only enhances precision but also helps clinics treat more patients.

Conclusion

At Kelsey-Seybold, the adoption of SGRT is not only improving workflows but also reshaping how patients experience care. Faster treatments, precise alignment, and tattoo-free approaches reflect a commitment to combining clinical excellence with patient-centered compassion.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month highlights the journey of so many patients, innovations like SGRT show how technology can ease that journey, helping patients move forward with confidence and dignity.

Kelly and Phoebe summed up the impact of SGRT for breast patients, explaining:

“I think it’s great, especially for breast patients, to be markless and tattoo-less. I’ve seen women get very upset having to look at the tattoos on their chest every day, and this approach helps them feel more confident and comfortable.”