NewYork-Presbyterian. The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

Radiation Oncology

Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT)

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NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital uses intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to treat many of our patients. IMRT is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy that allows for the radiation dose to conform more precisely to the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the tumor by controlling the intensity of the radiation beam in multiple small volumes. IMRT also allows higher radiation doses to be focused to regions within the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding normal critical structures.

IMRT uses the same linear accelerator as conventional therapy but involves dynamic multi-leaf collimators that use movable "leaves" to conform the radiation beam to the shape of the tumor from multiple directions. IMRT greatly enhances the ability of our doctors to tailor the radiation dose to each patient's individual anatomy.