Top Supported Gait Therapy Systems 2026

Introduction to Radiation Therapy

X-ray was first discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen on November 8, 1895. About two and half months later, on January 29, 1896, an X-ray was used to treat breast cancer patients. Fast forward over 100 years, clinicians are using various types of radiation (e.g., x-ray, electrons, protons, carbons, and others) to treat not only oncological diseases but also non-oncological diseases like heterotopic ossification, arterial venous malformation and trigeminal neuralgia. Radiation therapy uses highly energetic radiation (ionizing radiation) to induce DNA damage to the cancer cells while minimizing radiation damage to the normal tissue. Radiation can be used for curative intent and palliative purposes depending on the stage of the disease and location. There has been a long history of evidence based clinical trials and clinical experiences to show that radiation is highly effective at treating cancer with a highly favorable survival rate. Recently, there has been tremendous increase use of imaging modalities to better target cancers before, during and after treatment for the purpose of radiation treatment planning, target localization, and treatment outcome evaluation.