Say Goodbye to Skin Markings: SGRT at Landesklinikum Wiener Neustadt

Landesklinikum Wiener Neustadt says goodbye to radiotherapy tattoos as they embrace our market-leading SGRT solution, AlignRT, earning the prestigious Tattoo and Mark-Free Award.

The Institute for Radiooncology and Radiation Therapy at Landesklinikum Wiener Neustadt is recognized as one of Austria’s leading institutions for radiation therapy, known for its comprehensive use of cutting-edge technologies. Among these is surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT), provided by Vision RT.

Prior to Vision RT inventing SGRT, clinics had limited options for patient setup, relying on drawn marks or permanent tattoos to ensure accurate treatment delivery.  “Depending on the type of tumor, a series of irradiations lasts from one appointment to 7 weeks. The markings often had negative associations and severely restricted those affected in their daily lives,” explains Petra Wagner, the leading radiology technologist at the Institute for Radiooncology and Radiation Therapy.

Landesklinikum Wiener Neustadt adopted AlignRT, joining a growing number of clinics worldwide offering this innovative approach. “The system works with light and scans the surface of the person being treated during irradiation, ensuring extremely precise positioning and position monitoring of the patients,” explains the leading medical physicist DI Dr. Elisabeth Steiner. AlignRT can eliminate the need for tattoos or additional radiation and has been shown in several studies to be at least as accurate as either marks or tattoos for positioning patients prior to treatment¹²³. “With our modern techniques, we can treat a wide variety of cancers in a particularly gentle and precise manner,” emphasizes the team led by Primary Dr. Martina Metz. This technology is entirely non-invasive and contact-free technology, using 3D stereo cameras to track the skin’s surface and compare it to the ideal position in the treatment plan with submillimetric† accuracy.

The Tattoo and Mark-Free Award presented to Landesklinikum Wiener Neustadt recognizes the hospital’s pioneering role in applying advanced techniques in cancer treatment, enhancing patient comfort while maintaining precision.