{"entity":{"id":"surface-guided-radiotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT)","aka":[],"tldr":"Cameras track the patient's skin surface in three dimensions during treatment, replacing tattoos and pausing the beam if the patient moves.","summary":"Optical surface tracking systems project structured light onto the patient and compare the reconstructed surface with the planned one many times a second. They set up the patient without permanent skin tattoos, monitor motion throughout the beam and gate delivery during breath-hold. Surface guidance is now routine in breast radiotherapy, where deep-inspiration breath-hold moves the heart out of the field, and in radiosurgery with open face masks.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-17","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image-guided_radiation_therapy"}],"tags":["radiation-wave1","precision"],"related":[],"cancers":["breast-hr-positive","breast-her2-positive","tnbc"],"sections":["radiation"],"technologies":["imrt-igrt"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["deep-inspiration-breath-hold"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-open-trial-open-face-masks-sgrt-radiother-oncol-2026"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Real-time comparison of the patient's 3D surface with a reference surface drives setup corrections and beam gating.","strengths":["No tattoos or extra radiation","Continuous motion monitoring","Enables breath-hold treatment"],"limitations":["Surface does not always track internal anatomy","Struggles with large body habitus changes","Extra hardware and commissioning"],"since":2010},"route":"/technologies/surface-guided-radiotherapy/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"breast-her2-positive","kind":"cancer","name":"HER2-positive breast cancer","route":"/cancers/breast-her2-positive/"},{"id":"breast-hr-positive","kind":"cancer","name":"HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer","route":"/cancers/breast-hr-positive/"},{"id":"tnbc","kind":"cancer","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)","route":"/cancers/tnbc/"}],"section":[{"id":"radiation","kind":"section","name":"Radiation Therapy","route":"/fronts/radiation/"}],"technology":[{"id":"c-arm-linac","kind":"technology","name":"C-arm medical linear accelerators (TrueBeam, Versa HD and others)","route":"/technologies/c-arm-linac/"},{"id":"imrt-igrt","kind":"technology","name":"IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)","route":"/technologies/imrt-igrt/"},{"id":"patient-positioning-surface-guidance-systems","kind":"technology","name":"Patient positioning and surface guidance systems (AlignRT, Catalyst, ExacTrac Dynamic)","route":"/technologies/patient-positioning-surface-guidance-systems/"}],"term":[{"id":"deep-inspiration-breath-hold","kind":"term","name":"Deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH)","route":"/terms/deep-inspiration-breath-hold/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-open-trial-open-face-masks-sgrt-radiother-oncol-2026","kind":"paper","name":"OPEN: optimising patient experience in head and neck radiotherapy, a phase 3 randomised control trial comparing open versus closed face masks","route":"/key-papers/paper-open-trial-open-face-masks-sgrt-radiother-oncol-2026/"},{"id":"paper-heartspare-stage-ii-clin-oncol-2017","kind":"paper","name":"The UK HeartSpare Study (Stage II): multicentre evaluation of a voluntary breath-hold technique in patients receiving breast radiotherapy","route":"/key-papers/paper-heartspare-stage-ii-clin-oncol-2017/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-pu-breath-hold-left-breast-routine","kind":"idea","name":"Deep-breath-hold radiotherapy for every suitable person with left-sided breast cancer","route":"/ideas/idea-pu-breath-hold-left-breast-routine/"},{"id":"idea-pu-breath-hold-visual-feedback","kind":"idea","name":"Let the patient see their own breath-hold on a screen or in video glasses","route":"/ideas/idea-pu-breath-hold-visual-feedback/"},{"id":"idea-pu-open-face-masks","kind":"idea","name":"Open-face immobilisation masks for brain and head and neck radiotherapy where surface guidance can check the position","route":"/ideas/idea-pu-open-face-masks/"},{"id":"idea-pu-tattoo-free-set-up","kind":"idea","name":"Radiotherapy set-up without permanent ink tattoos, using surface guidance or invisible ink","route":"/ideas/idea-pu-tattoo-free-set-up/"}],"company":[{"id":"c-rad","kind":"company","name":"C-RAD","route":"/companies/c-rad/"},{"id":"vision-rt","kind":"company","name":"Vision RT","route":"/companies/vision-rt/"}]}}