ExacTrac Dynamic Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH)

2022: Technology Application Begins

On August 15, 2022, Brainlab announced the first group of breast cancer patients to be treated in the U.S. with the ExacTrac Dynamic Deep Inspiration Breath Hold module. The new method helps those with heart and vessel problems.

By combining high-precision surface guidance technology with trigger X-ray imaging, Highlands Oncology clinicians were able to address problems that often required large fields for treatment due to a lack of available technology and integration.

A new type of radiation therapy has begun for breast cancer patients who have heart and vascular problems

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S. and the second most fatal cancer among women, according to U.S. government and breast cancer advocacy groups. In the constant pursuit of curative radiotherapy, doctors find that they may undesirably irradiate the heart in an attempt to destroy breast cancer in patients with left-sided cancer, as uncontrolled breathing can lead to a vital organ entering the targeted radiation field. ExacTrac Dynamic and its new tracking technology actively controls breathing with correlation to internal anatomy testing.

A study from Brussels shows that the application of this technology helps reduce cardiac toxicity and the likelihood of developing lung cancer in patients in certain risk groups, including patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, and, crucially, those who smoke constantly.

Until now, patients receiving breast cancer radiation therapy have generally been treated using large radiation fields and without the benefit of internal anatomical screening during treatment. Brainlab's technology, which includes real-time X-ray confirmation, simplifies the process and provides confidence that the heart is outside the irradiation beam. This solution provides a correlation between internal and external anatomy in one shot, revealing any inconsistencies that might otherwise go unnoticed.^[1]

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