Artiste Linear Accelerator
Artiste Linear Accelerator is a radiation therapy platform specially designed for Adaptive Radiation Therapy (ART). This platform is an amalgamation of integrated imaging and workflow solutions and offers comprehensive radiation therapy solutions.
Artiste’s 2D and 3D imaging feature helps radiologists confirm the tumour location right before every session to ensure that radiation therapy is more focussed and precise. This feature also helps radiologists to spare healthy tissues close to the tumour.
Artiste can treat both superficial and inoperable tumours with superior precision and better clinical outcomes.
How Does Artiste Work?
Just like other linear accelerators, Artiste uses high-energy radiation beams to destroy the cancer cells in the targeted region.
Before the treatment, the oncologist will understand the patient’s condition and his/her needs and accordingly develop personalised treatment plans. Before each session, the linear accelerator is programmed to deliver radiation beams as per the shape, size and location of the tumour.
The radiation beams from Artiste are sculpted to contours of the tumour; this helps in reducing the damage to healthy tissues surrounding the tumour.
The patient is positioned on the moveable treatment couch and the treatment area is carefully marked. The radiation beam comes out of the gantry, which is a part of the accelerator. This gantry can rotate 360° around the patient and target the tumour from all possible angles.
Through its unique respiratory gating feature, Artiste accounts for body movements such as breathing, coughing and swallowing, and adjusts the radiation beams accordingly. This helps to treat cancer effectively while sparing the normal tissues surrounding it.
Each session may take 10 to 30 minutes depending on the type, stage and position of the tumour.
Artiste facilitates the following radiation therapy techniques:
- 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D CRT)
- Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
- Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
- Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
- Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT)
Advantages of Artiste Linear Accelerator
The key advantages of Artiste include:
- Artiste reduces the treatment duration by facilitating high dose radiation delivery.
- Through easier motion management, Artiste enhances safety and comfort for patients throughout the treatment.
- Overall improved treatment efficiency and patient satisfaction.
- This treatment takes less than 30 minutes and can be received as an outpatient.
- Fewer treatment-related complications and faster recovery among patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
This depends on your overall health, your treatment plan and the radiation dose you will be receiving. Although fatigue is commonly seen among most patients, there will be no serious difficulties performing simple activities or going to work. However, a few patients may find it difficult to stay active or work, and they can take time off.
Performing simple exercises and staying fit during treatment is also encouraged. To be sure, you can talk to your doctor and check for any possible limitations before starting.
This entirely depends on your treatment plan. For some, radiotherapy will be followed by other treatments such as surgery and for some, it is follow up.
In a few cases, radiotherapy is used to shrink the tumour before the surgery or along with chemotherapy (chemoradiation). And in some cases, radiation therapy is given after the surgery to kill the residual cancer cells. After the treatment, comes the follow-up care and appointments.
Follow-ups are necessary to monitor your treatment results. Initially, you will have regular appointments to keep, and as time passes, these appointments become less frequent.
Artiste is an external beam radiotherapy platform, i.e., the radiation is delivered through an external radiation source. This treatment will not make you radioactive.
However, internal radiation therapy, on the other hand, can make you radioactive as the radiation source is placed close to the tumour inside the body. In this case, extra precaution will be taken to limit your exposure to people around you. Your doctor will explain the procedure beforehand and will guide you with the necessary precautions.
Patients who have received external beam radiation therapy do not retain any radiation, and therefore, it is safe for children and pregnant women to be around them.
Those who have received brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy may have to avoid contact with pregnant women and children for a while. You can talk to your treating doctor for more information.
Radiation therapy may not be advised for pregnant women, as high-energy radiation can cause harm to the baby. However, depending on the type of cancer, its stage and aggressiveness, your treating doctor may take a call.