Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital is the first hospital in South Texas and only one of five facilities in the nation to be home to the Trilogy Tx for treating brain, spinal cord cancer and other central nervous system disorders with non-invasive, image-guided radiosurgery.
The Trilogy Tx can deliver a wide range of precise treatments enabling neurosurgeons to choose the best approach for each patient's clinical situation. Some of which include stereotactic radiosurgery, intensity-modulated radiosurgery and image-guided radiosurgery. The system combines advanced imaging and treatment technologies for precision and efficiency, meaning a faster diagnosis and recovery for patients.
"This state-of-the-art Trilogy Tx will enable us to deliver treatments using the most clinically efficient processes in the world," said Angel Blanco, MD, of Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. "Trilogy Tx Treatment image-guided radiosurgery provides us with tremendous versatility and precision for customizing treatments according to the specifics of each patient's case."
At the core of the Trilogy Tx is a high-powered medical linear accelerator that rotates 360 degrees around the patient to deliver radiosurgery beams from virtually any angle. Trilogy Tx is able to concentrate radiation doses on the tumor while protecting surrounding healthy tissue. Trilogy Tx can deliver high doses of radiation very quickly, and with great precision. Trilogy Tx also incorporates a set of optical guidance cameras that monitor the patient and correct for any patient movement. An optical monitoring device can be set to automatically turn the treatment beam on and off at a predetermined point in the patient's breathing cycle, for treatment of areas that move when the patient breathes, such as some paraspinal lesions.
"These important tracking and targeting technologies will enable us to treat lesions that might not have been treatable in the past - lesions close to structures like the spinal cord, optic nerve or brainstem, for example," said Dr. Blanco.
The Trilogy Tx is optimized for image-guided radiosurgery applications that involve delivering higher doses to very small areas over short periods of time. This means that neurosurgeons can use the system to treat benign and malignant brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, trigeminal neuralgia and other central nervous system disorders.
For more information, please call (713) 222-CARE (2273).