Final answer:
Yes, computers do direct therapeutic radiation precisely to tumors using techniques like the cobalt-60 machine, which maximizes the therapeutic ratio by concentrating radiation in the tumor and minimizing
Step-by-step explanation:
In response to the question of whether computers direct the power of therapeutic radiation precisely to a cancerous tumor, the answer is A. Yes. Modern radiation therapy utilizes sophisticated computer systems and machine technologies, such as the cobalt-60 machine, to focus high-energy radiation on targeted tumor regions with great precision.
This approach minimizes the radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, maximizing the destruction of cancer cells while preserving normal cells—a concept referred to as the therapeutic ratio. One prevalent technique involves a geometric method, where a narrow beam of radiation is directed from multiple angles converging at the tumor site.
This results in a high dose concentration in the malignant tissue and a dispersed, lower dose in the normal tissue, optimizing the treatment efficacy.