Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) was an advance in radiation treatment delivery that emerged in the early 1980s with the advent of modern medical imaging techniques and advanced computer graphics workstations. These technologies enhanced the ability to delineate the tumor target as well as normal structures. Because radiation is delivered more accurately, less normal tissue is treated and side effects are reduced.  This approach also permits the delivery of higher radiation doses to the tumor itself, thereby improving the probability of cure.

Emory's 3D Conformal Therapy Program

     Before any radiation therapy is actually given to the patient, the course of radiation treatment is carefully simulated with the department's CT (computed tomography, or CAT) scanner and planned in a treatment planning computer system.

     There are several modern treatment planning computer systems in our department.  All of these systems are capable of performing complex dose calculations, taking into consideration the individual patient's three-dimensional (3-D) geometry and the treatment machine's parameters.  A more recent advance in treatment planning is the ability to produce an optimal radiation distribution for a particular patient using advanced computer algorithms with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT).  Click here to visit our IMRT Research and Treatment Center.  Some patients now have MRI, PET, or pre-operative CT scan images fused with the CT simulation images on the planning computers to better define the target volume.

     At the Emory Clinic's Department of Radiation Oncology, we routinely use these treatment planning computer systems for our patients prior to delivery of radiation to achieve the best possible radiation dose distributions.  Click here to learn more about treatment simulation, planning, and delivery.