Image-guided radiation therapy Flashcards
A radiation therapy procedure that uses image guidance at various stages of treatment workflow: patient data acquisition, treatment planning, treatment simulation, patient setup, and target localization before and during treatment
Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT)
IGRT identifies and corrects problems due to inter- and intra- fractional variations in patient setup and anatomy
Inter-
Intra-
inter- (between fractions)
Intra- (during fraction)
What are some examples of IGRT?
CBCT vs planning CT (inter)
Electronic portal images vs. DRRs (inter)
ExacTrac (intra)
Use of imaging modalities to define the target and normal tissues for treatment planning
Image-based RT
Use of imaging modalities to monitor, guide, and modify treatment
Image-guided RT
Why use IGRT? Larger planning target volumes (PTV) margins can be used to compensate for localization errors during treatment BUT this means more healthy tissue is exposed
These are reasons to use IGRT:
Radiation delivery accuracy
Precision
Intra-fraction motion management
Adaptive RT
Why use IGRT?
Radiation delivery target
target coverage and normal tissue sparing
Why use IGRT? Precision
patient specific ptv margins
Why use IGRT? Intra-fraction motion management
respiratory gating/tumor tracking
abdominal compression
Why use IGRT? Adaptive RT
correct and moderate setup errors
assess anatomical changes/re-plan
Despite advancements in radiotherapy, technical challenges are still present in accurately delivering radiation:
Variation in setup positioning
Geometrical organ displacement
Deformation/volume changes of organs
IGRT technologies
ultrasound, kV radiographic, portal imaging, markers (active and passive), kV Ct-based, MV ct-based, kV CBCT based
Setup techniques
HexaPOD
Elekta – 440lbs
Six degrees of freedom (translational errors – x, y, z & rotational errors – roll, pitch, yaw)
Provides remote positioning correction
Look at powerpoint (slides 13-14)
Advantages to MRI Guided RT
superior soft tissue contrast
functional and physiological imaging
Real time dynamic imaging
No radiation imaging dose
Online adaptive radiotherapy (On-ART)
Challenges of MRI guided RT
MR safety
Lack of electron density information on MRI images for dose calculation
Magnetic field interference on dose distribution
MRIdian
MRI Guided Linac
0.35 T MRI with 6 MV linac
4D, real-time MR imaging
MLC based
Software for Adaptive Planning
(split superconducting magnet, gantry, patient handling system, source heads, split gradient coil)
Unity by Elekta
Digital Linac with MLCs, continuous rotation
1.5T Phillips MRI with 7 MV linac
Software functions that allow motion management and adaptive online planning
Intra-fraction motion
Intra-fraction: Clarity 4D-US
4D US based intra-fraction motion monitoring
3D US reconstruction
Fast refresh rate
Prostate-approved only
Visual tracking of a patient’s position on the couch during setup before treatment and constant monitoring of the patient’s surface movement and comparing to pre-recorded reference surface (detects intra-fraction motion)
Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT)
Advantages to surface guided radiation therapy
No extra irradiation
Shown to significantly reduce radiation heart damage for left breast cancer patients
Patient surface is constantly under surveillance
Intra-fraction Motion AlignRT
Real-time 3D surface imaging technique with high-speed tracking to determine the position of a patient in three dimensions