Developments in technology over the last few decades have also significantly improved treatment options in the area of radiotherapy planning and therapy.

In the past, radiotherapy was planned using a special X-ray machine ("simulator") based on the bony anatomy. A few radiation fields were aimed at the planning volume, with the areas of the body close to the planning volume receiving a higher dose. In addition, a larger safety margin was required around the body area to be irradiated due to limited possibilities for checking patient positioning, which ultimately led to higher side effect rates.

Nowadays, all radiotherapy is planned three-dimensionally on the basis of computer tomography ("planning CT"). The areas of the body to be irradiated are defined taking into account the radiological and nuclear medicine diagnostics (superimposition of planning CT with contrast agent CT, MRI, PET-CT) and the patient's individual anatomy. In addition, the organs to be spared can be determined in the CT. The medical physics experts can then precisely describe the dose distribution after the physical radiotherapy planning and verify it using measurement phantoms before the radiotherapy plan is applied to the patient.
Another significant improvement is the verification of the current body position immediately before the actual radiotherapy ("image-guided radiotherapy", "IGRT"). With the help of X-ray images (CT / MV images, CBCT), the patient's current body position can be checked with millimetre precision and corrected if necessary.

Modern techniques have contributed to the fact that the therapy is generally very well tolerated and that the frequency and severity of both acute and late side effects have decreased overall.

At the Medical Care Centre of Ulm University, outpatient treatments can be carried out for...

... malignant diseases (selection):

• Breast carcinoma
• Prostate carcinoma
• Rectal carcinoma (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain tumours (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain metastases
• Bone metastases
• Skin tumours

... benign diseases (selection):

• Heel spur (plantar fasciitis)
• Achillodynia
• Arthrosis of the shoulder, hip, knee, hands and feet
• Dupuytren's disease
• Ledderhose disease
• Graves' disease
• Periarticular calcifications of the hip
• Male gynaecomastia
• Meningiomas

In principle, several types of radiation can be used for medical purposes (fast electrons, gamma / photon, neutron, proton and ion radiation). These differ in their physical behaviour in human tissue (penetration depth, course of interaction at molecular level). The MVZ mainly uses photons, which are generated by a modern linear accelerator.

While numerous effects of ionising radiation in the body can be described (radical formation, alteration of biomolecules, etc.), the decisive effect in the treatment of tumours is the alteration of the genetic material of the cell, the DNA. Here, single and double-strand breaks are produced, which can also be repaired by the tissue. Healthy cells can usually repair these effects reliably, while tumour cells lose the ability to divide indefinitely or die.

In benign diseases such as arthrosis, there is an inflammatory change in an area of the body (joint capsules, tendons, etc.) that is sometimes poorly supplied with blood. As a result, drug therapies may not have the desired effect. Radiotherapy for benign diseases is also intended to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, low doses (e.g. 6 irradiations with 0.5Gy) are used to suppress the cell interactions that play a role in the inflammation of the tissue. After all, in contrast to tumour therapy, no cells are to be killed. The desired long-term pain relief usually only sets in after 6-12 weeks.

Developments in technology over the last few decades have also significantly improved treatment options in the area of radiotherapy planning and therapy.

In the past, radiotherapy was planned using a special X-ray machine ("simulator") based on the bony anatomy. A few radiation fields were aimed at the planning volume, with the areas of the body close to the planning volume receiving a higher dose. In addition, a larger safety margin was required around the body area to be irradiated due to limited possibilities for checking patient positioning, which ultimately led to higher side effect rates.

Nowadays, all radiotherapy is planned three-dimensionally on the basis of computer tomography ("planning CT"). The areas of the body to be irradiated are defined taking into account the radiological and nuclear medicine diagnostics (superimposition of planning CT with contrast agent CT, MRI, PET-CT) and the patient's individual anatomy. In addition, the organs to be spared can be determined in the CT. The medical physics experts can then precisely describe the dose distribution after the physical radiotherapy planning and verify it using measurement phantoms before the radiotherapy plan is applied to the patient.
Another significant improvement is the verification of the current body position immediately before the actual radiotherapy ("image-guided radiotherapy", "IGRT"). With the help of X-ray images (CT / MV images, CBCT), the patient's current body position can be checked with millimetre precision and corrected if necessary.

Modern techniques have contributed to the fact that the therapy is generally very well tolerated and that the frequency and severity of both acute and late side effects have decreased overall.

At the Medical Care Centre of Ulm University, outpatient treatments can be carried out for...

... malignant diseases (selection):

• Breast carcinoma
• Prostate carcinoma
• Rectal carcinoma (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain tumours (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain metastases
• Bone metastases
• Skin tumours

... benign diseases (selection):

• Heel spur (plantar fasciitis)
• Achillodynia
• Arthrosis of the shoulder, hip, knee, hands and feet
• Dupuytren's disease
• Ledderhose disease
• Graves' disease
• Periarticular calcifications of the hip
• Male gynaecomastia
• Meningiomas

In principle, several types of radiation can be used for medical purposes (fast electrons, gamma / photon, neutron, proton and ion radiation). These differ in their physical behaviour in human tissue (penetration depth, course of interaction at molecular level). The MVZ mainly uses photons, which are generated by a modern linear accelerator.

While numerous effects of ionising radiation in the body can be described (radical formation, alteration of biomolecules, etc.), the decisive effect in the treatment of tumours is the alteration of the genetic material of the cell, the DNA. Here, single and double-strand breaks are produced, which can also be repaired by the tissue. Healthy cells can usually repair these effects reliably, while tumour cells lose the ability to divide indefinitely or die.

In benign diseases such as arthrosis, there is an inflammatory change in an area of the body (joint capsules, tendons, etc.) that is sometimes poorly supplied with blood. As a result, drug therapies may not have the desired effect. Radiotherapy for benign diseases is also intended to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, low doses (e.g. 6 irradiations with 0.5Gy) are used to suppress the cell interactions that play a role in the inflammation of the tissue. After all, in contrast to tumour therapy, no cells are to be killed. The desired long-term pain relief usually only sets in after 6-12 weeks.

Developments in technology over the last few decades have also significantly improved treatment options in the area of radiotherapy planning and therapy.

In the past, radiotherapy was planned using a special X-ray machine ("simulator") based on the bony anatomy. A few radiation fields were aimed at the planning volume, with the areas of the body close to the planning volume receiving a higher dose. In addition, a larger safety margin was required around the body area to be irradiated due to limited possibilities for checking patient positioning, which ultimately led to higher side effect rates.

Nowadays, all radiotherapy is planned three-dimensionally on the basis of computer tomography ("planning CT"). The areas of the body to be irradiated are defined taking into account the radiological and nuclear medicine diagnostics (superimposition of planning CT with contrast agent CT, MRI, PET-CT) and the patient's individual anatomy. In addition, the organs to be spared can be determined in the CT. The medical physics experts can then precisely describe the dose distribution after the physical radiotherapy planning and verify it using measurement phantoms before the radiotherapy plan is applied to the patient.
Another significant improvement is the verification of the current body position immediately before the actual radiotherapy ("image-guided radiotherapy", "IGRT"). With the help of X-ray images (CT / MV images, CBCT), the patient's current body position can be checked with millimetre precision and corrected if necessary.

Modern techniques have contributed to the fact that the therapy is generally very well tolerated and that the frequency and severity of both acute and late side effects have decreased overall.

At the Medical Care Centre of Ulm University, outpatient treatments can be carried out for...

... malignant diseases (selection):

• Breast carcinoma
• Prostate carcinoma
• Rectal carcinoma (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain tumours (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain metastases
• Bone metastases
• Skin tumours

... benign diseases (selection):

• Heel spur (plantar fasciitis)
• Achillodynia
• Arthrosis of the shoulder, hip, knee, hands and feet
• Dupuytren's disease
• Ledderhose disease
• Graves' disease
• Periarticular calcifications of the hip
• Male gynaecomastia
• Meningiomas

In principle, several types of radiation can be used for medical purposes (fast electrons, gamma / photon, neutron, proton and ion radiation). These differ in their physical behaviour in human tissue (penetration depth, course of interaction at molecular level). The MVZ mainly uses photons, which are generated by a modern linear accelerator.

While numerous effects of ionising radiation in the body can be described (radical formation, alteration of biomolecules, etc.), the decisive effect in the treatment of tumours is the alteration of the genetic material of the cell, the DNA. Here, single and double-strand breaks are produced, which can also be repaired by the tissue. Healthy cells can usually repair these effects reliably, while tumour cells lose the ability to divide indefinitely or die.

In benign diseases such as arthrosis, there is an inflammatory change in an area of the body (joint capsules, tendons, etc.) that is sometimes poorly supplied with blood. As a result, drug therapies may not have the desired effect. Radiotherapy for benign diseases is also intended to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, low doses (e.g. 6 irradiations with 0.5Gy) are used to suppress the cell interactions that play a role in the inflammation of the tissue. After all, in contrast to tumour therapy, no cells are to be killed. The desired long-term pain relief usually only sets in after 6-12 weeks.

In principle, several types of radiation can be used for medical purposes (fast electrons, gamma / photon, neutron, proton and ion radiation). These differ in their physical behaviour in human tissue (penetration depth, course of interaction at molecular level). The MVZ mainly uses photons, which are generated by a modern linear accelerator.

While numerous effects of ionising radiation in the body can be described (radical formation, alteration of biomolecules, etc.), the decisive effect in the treatment of tumours is the alteration of the genetic material of the cell, the DNA. Here, single and double-strand breaks are produced, which can also be repaired by the tissue. Healthy cells can usually repair these effects reliably, while tumour cells lose the ability to divide indefinitely or die.

In benign diseases such as arthrosis, there is an inflammatory change in an area of the body (joint capsules, tendons, etc.) that is sometimes poorly supplied with blood. As a result, drug therapies may not have the desired effect. Radiotherapy for benign diseases is also intended to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, low doses (e.g. 6 irradiations with 0.5Gy) are used to suppress the cell interactions that play a role in the inflammation of the tissue. After all, in contrast to tumour therapy, no cells are to be killed. The desired long-term pain relief usually only sets in after 6-12 weeks.

In principle, several types of radiation can be used for medical purposes (fast electrons, gamma / photon, neutron, proton and ion radiation). These differ in their physical behaviour in human tissue (penetration depth, course of interaction at molecular level). The MVZ mainly uses photons, which are generated by a modern linear accelerator.

While numerous effects of ionising radiation in the body can be described (radical formation, alteration of biomolecules, etc.), the decisive effect in the treatment of tumours is the alteration of the genetic material of the cell, the DNA. Here, single and double-strand breaks are produced, which can also be repaired by the tissue. Healthy cells can usually repair these effects reliably, while tumour cells lose the ability to divide indefinitely or die.

In benign diseases such as arthrosis, there is an inflammatory change in an area of the body (joint capsules, tendons, etc.) that is sometimes poorly supplied with blood. As a result, drug therapies may not have the desired effect. Radiotherapy for benign diseases is also intended to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, low doses (e.g. 6 irradiations with 0.5Gy) are used to suppress the cell interactions that play a role in the inflammation of the tissue. After all, in contrast to tumour therapy, no cells are to be killed. The desired long-term pain relief usually only sets in after 6-12 weeks.

Developments in technology over the last few decades have also significantly improved treatment options in the area of radiotherapy planning and therapy.

In the past, radiotherapy was planned using a special X-ray machine ("simulator") based on the bony anatomy. A few radiation fields were aimed at the planning volume, with the areas of the body close to the planning volume receiving a higher dose. In addition, a larger safety margin was required around the body area to be irradiated due to limited possibilities for checking patient positioning, which ultimately led to higher side effect rates.

Nowadays, all radiotherapy is planned three-dimensionally on the basis of computer tomography ("planning CT"). The areas of the body to be irradiated are defined taking into account the radiological and nuclear medicine diagnostics (superimposition of planning CT with contrast agent CT, MRI, PET-CT) and the patient's individual anatomy. In addition, the organs to be spared can be determined in the CT. The medical physics experts can then precisely describe the dose distribution after the physical radiotherapy planning and verify it using measurement phantoms before the radiotherapy plan is applied to the patient.
Another significant improvement is the verification of the current body position immediately before the actual radiotherapy ("image-guided radiotherapy", "IGRT"). With the help of X-ray images (CT / MV images, CBCT), the patient's current body position can be checked with millimetre precision and corrected if necessary.

Modern techniques have contributed to the fact that the therapy is generally very well tolerated and that the frequency and severity of both acute and late side effects have decreased overall.

At the Medical Care Centre of Ulm University, outpatient treatments can be carried out for...

... malignant diseases (selection):

• Breast carcinoma
• Prostate carcinoma
• Rectal carcinoma (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain tumours (oral radiochemotherapy if necessary)
• Brain metastases
• Bone metastases
• Skin tumours

... benign diseases (selection):

• Heel spur (plantar fasciitis)
• Achillodynia
• Arthrosis of the shoulder, hip, knee, hands and feet
• Dupuytren's disease
• Ledderhose disease
• Graves' disease
• Periarticular calcifications of the hip
• Male gynaecomastia
• Meningiomas