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Radiation Therapy Slashed to Under a Minute
23 Dec, 2025
Summary
- New system reduces standard radiation sessions to under one minute.
- Advanced therapy adapts to patient position and breathing.
- Treatment times for large skin areas cut from 45 to 15 minutes.
A groundbreaking Varian EDGE system is revolutionizing radiation therapy by significantly reducing treatment durations. Standard sessions, previously lasting 2.5 to 3 minutes, are now completed in under one minute. This advanced technology utilizes surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT) to deliver highly focused radiation, precisely adapting to a patient's position and breathing patterns to minimize exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
This innovation is particularly beneficial for patients undergoing complex and high-risk cancer treatments, including those for multiple brain metastases, head and neck cancers, breast, and lung cancers. Furthermore, large-field skin treatments have seen a remarkable reduction in time, decreasing from approximately 45 minutes to about 15 minutes, offering substantial relief and comfort to patients.
The Varian EDGE system incorporates an automatic safety mechanism that immediately halts radiation if any patient movement is detected, enhancing safety. In most cases, patients will no longer require thermoplastic immobilization casts, except for treatments involving highly mobile organs like the spleen and prostate. The system also enables treatment for certain functional brain disorders, even in the absence of a visible tumor.
