Emory University School of Medicine's Department of Radiation Oncology recently became one of the first cancer treatment centers to use imaging and treatment technologies to treat gall bladder cancer with highly precise image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), according to Varian Medical Systems.

The treatment included two technologies from Varian, the On-Board Imager used for automated, image-guided patient positioning, along with Varian's RPM Respiratory Gating to synchronize the treatment with the patient's respiratory cycle, Varian said.

The procedural approach was established to compensate for tumor movement resulting from the patient's ordinary breathing during surgery, which can often be a problem area in the treatment of thoracic cancers, said Varian.