Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) is a tattoo-free alternative for patients who require radiation therapy. Traditional radiation therapy requires patients to receive very small but permanent tattoos on their skin around the treatment site. These tattoos help the radiation therapist position the patient correctly and deliver treatment to the right location. SGRT uses advanced camera technology to track and monitor patients during set-up and treatment, eliminating the need for permanent tattooing or other temporary markings on the skin.
This technique also provides the radiation therapist with thousands of reference points on a patient’s skin and allows them to precisely track a patient’s movements in real-time during treatment, helping to ensure radiation is delivered safely and to sub-millimetre accuracy. Safety is further enhanced by the system’s auto-pause feature, which automatically pauses treatment if a patient moves outside of a safe position while treatment is underway.
SGRT treatment sessions are typically shorter than traditional radiation therapy sessions, as the set-up process can be completed more quickly.
