Memorial Medical Cancer Center Now Offering Advanced Radiotherapy With VitalBeam™ System

In a very promising development for cancer patients in Southern New Mexico, Memorial Medical Cancer Center has commenced treating cancer patients using the VitalBeam™ radiotherapy system from Varian Medical Systems, bringing even more advanced image-guided tumor targeting capabilities close to home.

VitalBeam delivers powerful cancer treatments with pinpoint accuracy and precision. It uniquely integrates imaging and treatment technologies within a sophisticated architecture that makes it possible to deliver image-guided treatments very quickly, opening the door to new possibilities for the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, head and neck, as well as other cancers that are treatable with radiotherapy.

“With VitalBeam, we can select the optimal treatment for every type of cancer,” said Dr. Gregory Willis, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Medical Cancer Center. “This is a breakthrough that enables us to offer a wider spectrum of advanced radiotherapy treatment options to more patients. It represents a big step forward in our ability to help people fight cancer.” 

“Our entire Radiation Oncology team is thrilled to offer this cutting-edge technology to our community,” added Lynn Fletcher, Director of the Cancer Center. “As the only nationally accredited cancer program in the region, we are incredibly proud to access the latest research and offer the most current treatments for our patients.”

The VitalBeam radiotherapy system offers physicians a broad spectrum of treatment options for challenging cases such as cancers of the head/neck, breast, prostate, lung, liver, and pancreas.  Its integrated imaging tools enable the treatment team to pinpoint the tumor they are going to treat, monitor its position during treatment and make adjustments for greater accuracy.

This new technology joins the Edge Radiosurgery System at Memorial Radiation Oncology. With the Edge radiosurgery system, a wide range of tumors that are typically difficult to reach with traditional surgery can be targeted and treated with power and precision.

In RapidArc® mode—one of the treatment modalities enabled by the VitalBeam system—simple treatments that once took 15 minutes or more can be completed in less than two once the patient is in position. “These are significant reductions in treatment time,” said Radiation Oncologist Dr. Jason Call. “Many patients will spend a whole lot less time lying still, immobilized on a hard surface. That’s yet another benefit of this wonderful system.”

A VitalBeam system can deliver dose with tremendous precision. Its accuracy is made possible by a sophisticated architecture that synchronizes imaging, patient positioning, beam shaping, and dose delivery, performing accuracy checks every ten milliseconds throughout a treatment.

VitalBeam can be used for radiotherapy treatments including image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery (IGRT and IGRS), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and RapidArc® radiotherapy.