Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging

technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures. MRI makes use of the property of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to image nuclei of atoms inside the body.

An MRI machine uses a powerful magnetic field to align the magnetization of some atomic nuclei in the body, and radio frequency fields to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scannerand this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body. Magnetic field gradients cause nuclei at different locations to rotate at different speeds. By using gradients in different directions 2D images or 3D volumes can be obtained in any arbitrary orientation.

Magnetic resonance angiography

If the biologically active molecule chosen for PET is FDG, an analogue of glucose, the concentrations of tracer imaged then give tissue metabolic activity, in terms of regional glucose uptake. Use of this tracer to explore the possibility of cancer metastasis (i.e., spreading to other sites) results in the most common type of PET scan in standard medical care (90% of current scans). However, on a minority basis, many other radiotracers are used in PET to image the tissue concentration of many other types of molecules of interest.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a threedimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positronemitting radionuclide (tracer), which is introduced into the body on a biologically active molecule. Threedimensional images of tracer concentration within the body are then constructed by computer analysis. In modern scanners, three dimensional imaging is often accomplished with the aid of a CT X-ray scan performed on the patient during the same session, in the same machine.

Schema of a PET acquisition process

A complete body PET / CT Fusion image

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) utilizes a highly precise radiation system to deliver carefully calculated beams of intense radiation directly into a cancer. Successful IMRT depends both on specialized equipment and on a highly trained team of physicians, physicists, and technologists. 21st Century Oncology has acquired this equipment and assembled such a team.

IMRT is delivered by specially equiped linear accelerators guided by a revolutionary computer system. After a comprehensive series of tests and evaluations, each patient's unique and complex data are programmed into the IMRT computer to create the ideal treatment plan. Computer-generated imaging of the exact location of the tumor within the patient allows the oncology team to calibrate the radiation beam therapy with an accuracy that has never before been available. The beam itself is shaped by the linear accelerators 120 computer-controlled "fingers" and can be directed on a 360-degree axis. The painless procedure is repeated in a series of outpatient visits, enabling patients to return to the privacy of their own homes after each treatment.