Last week, the BBC broadcast a Horizon programme about new cancer treatments being trialled at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. The documentary followed three different types of treatment; robotic surgery, a genetically targeted drug and a radiotherapy robot.
As we’ve discovered, standard radiotherapy treatment involves splitting the required dose into 3 beams, so only cells inside the tumour receive the full dose. The radiotherapy robot, CyberKnife, allows high energy x-rays to enter the patient’s body from many different angles. The advantage of this robot is that it minimises the risk to healthy tissue while ensuring a fatal dose of energy is delivered to the cancer cells.
I have put together a series of clips from the programme to follow patient Ray’s treatment. The clip from the planning meeting shows just many individual beams the robot will use during the treatment.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/40240928 w=500&h=375]
To find out more about how x-rays affect living cells, watch this clip from Bang Goes the Theory.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/30108400 w=500&h=375]
The Royal Marsden Hospital has a video that provides a quick guide to radiotherapy.
Use the download link below if you would like to save a copy of the CyberKnife video.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download