One of the major obstacles in radiation therapy is patient positioning. In the past, large safety margins have been used to compensate for uncertainties due to mechanical inaccuracies of treatment setup.
These factors limit the use of modern radiation therapy techniques like sterotatic radiosurgery, and IMRT, IGRT, as effective treatment choices when increased radiation dosages are aimed at a higher cure rate.
The Hexapod is a patient positioning system that corrects for all misalignment detected by a state-of-the-art image guidance system. The Hexapod allows for submillimeter 6-D conformal robotic patient positioning. This system will allow for a significant reduction of safety margins while at the same time permitting higher doses to the tumor.
