Carle Cancer Center will be the first in central Illinois to offer advanced radiation therapy treatment called TomoTherapy.

TomoTherapy is one of the most advanced treatment delivery systems currently on the market. The equipment looks like a CT scanner because it is, but it also uses a ring gantry to deliver thousands of radiation treatment beams in a 360 degree radius around the patient.

"TomoTherapy is a revolutionary way to treat cancer with radiation," says Ron Sapiente, MD, head of Radiation Oncology at Carle Clinic. "With the on-board CT scanner, we will use the same equipment to both image the tumor, and treat it. The technology will allow us to deliver seamless treatment to our patients."

Outside Urbana, the closest TomoTherapy units are at major academic centers in St. Louis and Chicago. The TomoTherapy unit will be installed in the new Carle Cancer Center building, set to open Spring 2008.

Carle Clinic Associates approved the purchase of TomoTherapy, as well as a linear accelerator and large bore MRI, at a recent meeting.