Saturday, April 10, 2010

mage Guided Radiation Therapy

Cancer is nearly the leading cause of death in the U.S., and more and more people need help in treatment. Luckily in recent years there has been a good deal of technological headway that has come about. From identifying and treating the tumors in the body, new radiation technology and techniques have already come into use with a lot of promise.

alexandria doctor

Significant changes are emerging in the medical imaging industry with innovations that move away from expensive, large, stationary, and complex systems to smaller, easier to use, and more accessible devices. Technological advances mean imaging capabilities will no longer be confined just to large hospitals and institutions. Rather, they will begin showing up increasingly in small hospitals, physicians' offices, and on wheels outside medical settings.

If a breast abnormality is identified with a mammography or physical exam, a woman will usually be referred for further breast imaging with diagnostic mammography, ultrasound, or other imaging tests. Depending on the outcomes of these imaging tests, she might be referred for a breast biopsy. Biopsy is the simply definitive method to settle on whether cancer is in attendance.

Color-spectrum therapy has been popular since the days of antiquity. In Ancient Rome, the healer Pleneus recommended precious red stones to stop bleeding, while in China, healers cured stomach discomforts by gently massaging the patient’s belly with the yellow color. In Western society, notions such as these have given way to the scientific understanding of light as electromagnetic energy, and of color, as being determined by its frequency.

Despite significant advances in cancer research and treatment, one form of cancer - brain tumors - remain particularly feared, and for good reason. Because of their location, brain tumors can severely impact an individual's personality, memories and basic motor skills, robbing the patient of their very being. The impact on family and friends is felt greatly, as their loved one may be "lost" to them even earlier than feared. While there are more than 120 types of brain tumors, for the most common and serious adult tumors, Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the chances of living 5 years is less than 3%. Most patients will live no more than a year or two despite aggressive therapy.

The challenge that doctors have with tumors in the lung is that those tumors move as the sufferer breathes. Radiosurgery devices like the Cyberknife Robotic Radiosurgery System give patients a new alternative for the lung cancer treatment. Different from traditional radiation therapy, the Cyberknife System accurately identifies the tumor site as the patient breathes normally during treatment and can be utilized, in a number of cases, to treat lung tumors non-invasively.

Ultrasound machines use ultra sound in a generally safe manner, typically for diagnosis. What makes medical sonography safe is its high frequency and low loudness, lack of radiation, and skillful application by trained sonographers. When it comes to ultrasound, machines of this complexity are only to be used by trained ultrasound technicians or sonogram machine operators who are experts in medical ultrasound. Machines are expensive and highly advanced.