Radiation Oncology in Minnesota

Special Capabilities

Mayo Clinic's state-of-the-art facilities and expert staff make it possible to deliver the innovative, progressive and comprehensive treatment services.

Some special capabilities include:

Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID)
Mayo Clinic uses electronic portal imaging devices (EPID) to improve the precision of external beam radiation therapy. The device helps care providers precisely direct the radiation at targeted tumor tissue. EPIDs are computer-controlled and provide more confidence and better localization to the tumor site than traditional X-ray films. Mayo has a number of treatment protocols that take advantage of EPID technology.

Hyperthermia Treatment
Occasionally radiation oncologists use heat to help destroy tumors. In this treatment, known as hyperthermia, care providers induce high temperatures in the tumor to damage cancer cells. Care providers typically use hyperthermia in conjunction with radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Intraoperative Radiation Therapy
Mayo Clinic has one of the nation's largest and most advanced centers for intraoperative radiation therapy. Physicians may use this technique to radiate cancerous tumors during a patient's surgery. This technique allows intense radiation doses to be given to cancer cells while avoiding the healthy tissues that surround the tumor.

Small Field Conformal Radiation Therapy
Small field conformal radiation therapy combines three-dimensional diagnostic imaging, a highly accurate tumor positioning system and powerful computers with specialized software to conform the radiation beam to the shape of the tumor. Currently used for brain treatments, this procedure delivers radiation with higher precision than standard three-dimensional radiation therapy.

Sophisticated Treatment Planning
Mayo Clinic's extensive treatment planning process allows radiation treatments to be tailored to each patient's needs. The treatment planning process usually begins with a skin-marking session known as simulation. Simulators are types of diagnostic X-ray machines that duplicate the geometry of the radiation treatment. They help precisely define the area to be penetrated with radiation before the treatment is given. Care providers often follow this process with a computerized tomographic (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to help define the tumor's size and location, and to properly identify surrounding normal tissues.

After the radiation oncologist identifies the areas to be treated, physicists and dosimetrists use two-dimensional or three-dimensional treatment planning systems to direct the radiation to the cancerous tumors and minimize the dose of radiation to normal tissues.