We do. There are various techniques used to deliver modern radiation treatments and they rarely use only a single beam to treat a tumor. That only really happens for skin lesions. Otherwise, multiple-beam radiation therapy techniques include 3D conformal , IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy), DCA (dynamic conformal arcs), VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy), SBRT (stereotactic body radiation therapy)….the list goes on.
There are many factors involved in choosing a technique such as exit dose (radiation dose to tissue beyond the target), skin dose, (maximum dose is not at the point of beam entry on skin but rather at a calculated depth), treatment site, treatment intent (palliative patients typically get insurance approval for less-conformal treatment plans since the dose to surrounding areas is lower than a curative dose which is much more aggressive), etc.
Source: I am a radiation therapist, AKA the person who delivers the treatments.
TheFram t1_ivo5wkf wrote
Reply to comment by ReasonablyBadass in Experimental “FLASH” cancer treatment aces first human trial by tonymmorley
We do. There are various techniques used to deliver modern radiation treatments and they rarely use only a single beam to treat a tumor. That only really happens for skin lesions. Otherwise, multiple-beam radiation therapy techniques include 3D conformal , IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy), DCA (dynamic conformal arcs), VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy), SBRT (stereotactic body radiation therapy)….the list goes on.
There are many factors involved in choosing a technique such as exit dose (radiation dose to tissue beyond the target), skin dose, (maximum dose is not at the point of beam entry on skin but rather at a calculated depth), treatment site, treatment intent (palliative patients typically get insurance approval for less-conformal treatment plans since the dose to surrounding areas is lower than a curative dose which is much more aggressive), etc.
Source: I am a radiation therapist, AKA the person who delivers the treatments.