Midterm Flashcards
A polymer that turns to a liquid when heated & freezes to a very glassy state when cooled
sufficiently, Most __ are high-molecular-weight polymers whose chains associate through weak Van der Waals forces (polyethylene) stronger dipole-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonding (nylon); or even stacking of aromatic rings (polystyrene) In rad’n therapy, BOLUS is a tissue equivalent substances placed on the px’s skin in order to achieve the required dose distribution & surrounding healthy tissues
thermoplastic
Parts of treatment machine
Head of machine, collimator, gantry
the portion of the machine directly above the px that contains the source of rad’n
Head of machine
Directly above px and protruding from the head use to help the limits of treatment field
Collimator
a dial that indicates the angle of the head relative to the px; capable of rotating a full 360° around the px
Gantry
depth of maximum delivered dose from a single radiation field; at this depth that the number of collisions is at maximum
dmax
region between the body surface & dmax
Build up region
X-RAY MACHINES
❖ Diagnostic x-rays –
❖ Superficial x-rays -
❖ Orthovoltage ‘’ -
❖ Supervoltage ‘’ –
❖ Megavoltage ‘’ –
❖ Low energy machines –
25-150 kV
50-200 kV
200-500 kV
500-1000 kV
1-25 mV
uses x-rays generated at voltages up to 300 kVp (primary app.: treatment of SUPERFICIAL LESIONS)
KILOVOLTAGE UNITS INCLUDE:
o Grenz-
o Contact-
o Superficial-
o Orthovoltage –
o Supervoltage-
10-15 kVp
50 kVp
50-150 kVp
150-500 kVp
500 up
10-15 kVp, Almost entirely absorbed in the first 2um of skin ; have a useful depth dose range of about 0.5um Treatment of inflammatory disorder (langerhan’s cells), Bowen’s disease, patchy stage myscosis fungoides, herpes simplex
Grenz rays
Superficial skin lesions, treatment unit comes in contact w/ patient, Endocavitary treatment for curative (rectal), Advantages: preserves sphincter, low to middle third of rectum, confined to bowel wall, maximum tumor sizes of 3x5cm, Hemangiomas, For treatment of 3000 cGy each, separated by a 2-week interval,cSSD: 4 cm, 1 um aluminum filtration, A contact machine operates @ potential of: 40-50 kVp; tube current: 2-5 mA, Attached cones are used for a SSD of typically 2 cm or less, 0.5 – 1.0mm aluminum filters are used to give a typical HVL of 0.6mm aluminum, XRAY TUBE: rod shaped w/ an extremely thin berylium window, with 0.03 aluminum equivalence inherent filtration The primary rad’n therapy application of a contact x-ray unit for endocavitary irradiation of selected small carcinomas
Contact therapy
50-150 kVp and 5-10 mA 1-6 um aluminum filtration, Cones 2-5cm diameter, Pb cut outs, SSD: 15-20 cm, Typical HVLs used: 1.0 – 8.0 mm Al, The dmax is on the surface & falls off rapidly w/ depth due to low energy and SSD, Skin CA & tumors not deeper than 0.5 cm treated as a result of the rapid fall-off of the radiation
Superficial equipment
150-500 kVp and 10-20 mA, HVL: 1-4 mm Cu, SSD: 50-70 cm, dmax occurs at very close to the skin surface falling to about 90% @ approx.. 2 cm of depth, skin, mouth, and cervical carcinoma treatment last several mins, experience limitation in the treatment of lesions deeper than 2-3 cm
Orthovoltage/deep machines
first type of treatment machine available, DISADV: large skin doses delivered relative to the tumor doses, dmax is the skin surface
Kilovoltage machine
500-1000 kV, One of these machines is resonant transformer in w/c the voltage is stepped up in a very efficient manner
Supervoltage
Energy 1 MV or greater, The effective energy of the primary rad’n produced by the megavoltage equipment is higher than kilovoltage equipment, The dmax is therefore is not @ the skin surface but at some depth below the skin, The gamma rad’n energies such as those of Co-60, dmax would be 0.5cm from the skin, EX: Van de Graaff generator. Liner accelerator. Betatron and microtron, & Teletherapy units such as Co-60
Megavoltage
The first form of rad’n therapy machine that was introduced to take place of kilovoltage, equipment, Contained high activity gamma-emitting sources Cobalt machine uses a high activity radioactive source located in the head of the machine, The source is stored in a well-shielded position when the machine is in the “off” position, The usual shielding material in such machines is either Uranium or lead. x Prior to 1951, teletherapy using isotope were made for use with radium, the Co-60 source consist of a double encapsulated cylinder filled with disc of pellets of the isotope, The double steel capsule which is sealed by welding, is necessary to prevent escape of radioactive
material
Cobalt 60 (Co60)
3 distinct parts of a shadow
Umbra, penumbra, antumbra
Latin for ‘‘shadow”, The innermost and darkest part of a shado where the light sources is completely blocked by the occluding body.
Umbra
Latin paene “nearly” and umbra “shadow”, The area at the edge of the radiation beam at which the dose rate changes rapidly as a function of distance from the beam axis, The larger the source size, the larger the __ , Larger field sizes in Co-60 machine are necessary to cover the same amount of tissue adequately as compared to the LINAC
Penumbra
Latin ante “before” ; the region from which the occluding body appears entirely contained within
the disc of the light source
Antumbra
When the greater percentage of dose occurs below the skin surface x Dmax is the max dose received by the tumor, dmax is the depth of maximum build up, in which 100% of lhe dose is deposited. Electron Equilibrium is another term used to describe __ . As energy increases, so does the depth of electron equilibrium
Dose maximum (Dmax)
energy of gamma ray= 662 KeV (0.0662 MeV) x Half-life 30 years, SSD = 20-30 cm, Did not become popular because gamma rays are not penetrating
cesium-137
Main parts of cobalt machine
Gantry, control console, psa or px support assembly/ px couch
4 MV to 22 MV, Single beam/dual beam
Photon beam
Multi-beams with energy range between: 4-22 MeV
Electron beam
Charged particles travel in a straight lines as they gain energy from an alternating electromagnetic field, Higher energy beams can be generated with greater skin sparing, Field edges arc more sharply designed with less penumbra and personnel receive less exposure to radiation leakage, Provides better isodose distribution (greater dose to the tumor and less dose to normal tissues), faster dose rate and more manageable radiation protection concerns
Advantages:
o dmax=?: 1 cm below the skin
o less penumbra compared with Co-60
o when the machine is off, no radiation leakage is produce (less hazard to personnel)
o provides better dose distribution
o faster dose rate - desire dose rate is reached quickly
Linear accelerator
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF MEDICAL LINEAR ACCELERATOR
Power Supply
Modulator
Magnetron or Klystron
Electron Gun
Wave Guide System
Accelerator Tube
Bending magnet
Treatment Head (Straight Beam)
Treatment Head (Bent Beam)
Contains apparatus that drives the LINAC
drive stand
2 types of power sources for microwave generators used in LINAC
Magnetron
Klystron
most important; low energy lINACS
Magnetron
High energy LINACS
Klystron
-Both provide source of microwave power used to accelerate electron
Magnetron and klystron
hollow tubular structures, single tube, divided up into sections by discs with central holes, the sections are called cavities which receives microwaves which are injected into one end of the accelerator wave guide
Waveguide
directs RF energy into the wave guide and prevents any reflected microwave from returning to klystron or magnetron allows microwave power to pass through to the accelerator but prevents microwaves that are reflected back from reaching the klystron or the magnetron
Circulator
responsible for directing the photon (x-ray) or electron beam at a patients tumor; contains the head of the machine
Gantry
most important part of the gantry
Head of the machine
responsible for producing electrons and injecting them into the accelerator structure (can provide x-ray photons and electrons) acts as the source of electrons
Electron Gun
microwave power is transported to this structure, in which corrugations are used, to slow up the wave
Accelerator structure (Guide)
helps the machine rotate smoothly and provides additional shielding ; absorbs most of the primary radiation; located at the end of the gantry, no beam stopper, need more shielding
Beam stopper (optional) or counterweight
monitors and controls the LINAC; located in separate room
Control Console
area on which patients are positioned to receive their radiation treatment
Treatment couch/Patient support Assembly (PSA)