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GREENSBORO — When doctors talk about Moses Cone’s newest piece of technology, they sound like they’re talking about a weapon.

And they are.

The hospital’s new radiation therapy equipment, the first of its kind to be installed in North Carolina, is billed as a significant advance in the war against cancer.

The benefits, doctors say, are clear.

Better targeting. Less collateral damage. More powerful strikes.

And in the end, a higher cure rate, with fewer complications along the way.

“We just leapfrogged everyone,” said Dr. Robert Murray, medical director of radiation oncology at Moses Cone Health System Regional Cancer Center. “It’s nice to have this technology in the community.”

The system, called TomoTherapy, essentially combines a radiation device called a linear accelerator with a CT scanning machine.

It can rotate completely around the patient, delivering radiation from different angles and with beams of varying size and intensity.

A key benefit is being able to hit very small areas very precisely with very high radiation.

“It’s easy to get radiation to the tumor. What you want to do is avoid all the normal tissue and structures around it,” said Del Coufal, a spokesman for the company. “The big advance is ... with pinpoint accuracy being able to deliver the radiation.”

That translates into being able to minimize side effects and complications.

Depending on the part of the body being treated, complications from radiation can include rectal bleeding, problems with saliva production and cardiac complications.

“You’re better able to target the cancer,” Murray said. “You’re not going to get collateral damage.”

The machine looks like a CT scanner, with a table that slides into a large, circular ring that delivers the scanning and radiation. It’s connected to a computer system that helps calculate the ideal angles from which to deliver the radiation.

Radiation therapy has long been used in medicine, but early technology was crude, akin to using a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel.

Over time, the technology has become increasingly precise.

Murray said he’s been looking at the TomoTherapy system for some time. “I’ve had my eye on the technology for probably four years.”

In the end, the equipment, along with creating space for it, cost the hospital about $4 million. It’s an investment with a clear payoff, he said.

The machine is set to begin treating patients on Tuesday.

“We’re so excited,” Murray said. “I just wanted to make sure that we have the technology so that patients can stay in the Greensboro community.”

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com