ALTOONA – Signaling its commitment to providing the highest levels of quality cancer care, UPMC CancerCenter Radiation Oncology at UPMC Altoona, along with partner, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, has installed the Elekta Infinity(r) linear accelerator, a radiation treatment system with an integrated 4D imaging system that allows physicians to more precisely target tumors with radiation beams.
UPMC Altoona’ Radiation Oncology Department treated its first patient with the Elekta Infinity on Nov. 14. “This equipment puts us on the cutting edge of cancer treatment,” said Jack Schocker, M.D., UPMC CancerCenter Radiation Oncology. “We can treat a patient in the best possible fashion.”
With Elekta Infinity, UPMC Altoona provides access to one of the most innovative and advanced cancer treatment therapies available. Elekta Infinity is an image-guided robotic linear accelerator that combines integrated software-driven imaging with powerful high-resolution radiation delivery.
“This machine has the highest full-field resolution available in the industry,” Schocker said. “It is more ‘conformal,’ meaning we can better sculpt the radiation fields around the tumor. The ability to perform high quality, 4D imaging at the time of treatment provides clinicians with a solution to two of the most persistent and significant problems in radiation therapy: internal organ motion and errors in patient set-up. Elekta Infinity provides unmatched clinical confidence to more aggressively treat tumors, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Since its opening in 1995, the Radiation Oncology Department at UPMC Altoona has cared for more patients than any other facility in the region. The department is staffed with board certified radiation oncologists, two board-certified medical physicists, two certified medical dosimetrists, eight certified radiation therapists, four oncology certified nurses, a secretarial staff, and other support.