PURPOSE In this study, we present the clinical implementation of a novel transoral balloon centering esophageal applicator (BCEA) and the initial clinical experience in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment of esophageal cancer, using this applicator. MATERIAL AND METHODS Acceptance testing and commissioning of the BCEA were performed prior to clinical use. Full performance testing was...

Human communication has a remarkable capacity to describe events that occurred elsewhere and at other times. In particular, when describing complex narratives, speakers must communicate temporal structure using a mixture of words (e.g., “after”), gestures (e.g., pointing rightward for a later event), and discourse structure (e.g., mentioning earlier events first). How do listeners integrate the...

Endobronchial brachytherapy (EBB) is an effective treatment for endobronchial tumors. However, bronchial toxicity caused by over-irradiation remains problematic. To decrease bronchial toxicity, we developed a source-centralizing applicator for EBB. The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety of EBB with varying reference dose points according to the bronchial diameter...

BACKGROUND Surgery plus adjuvant radiotherapy is standard care for locally advanced prostate cancer (stage pT3R1). Intraoperative low-energy photon radiotherapy offers several advantages over external beam radiotherapy, and several systems are now available for its delivery, using spherical applicators, which require only limited shielding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility ...

INTRODUCTION In recent years, various types of medical applications of microwaves have widely been investigated and reported [1]. In particular, minimally invasive microwave thermal therapies using thin applicators are of a great interest. They are interstitial microwave hyperthermia [2] and microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) [3] for medical treatment of cancer, cardiac catheter ablation for v...

Background: One of the main problems of dedicated IORT accelerators is to determine dosimetric characteristics of the electron beams. Monte Carlo simulation of IORT accelerator head and produced beam will be useful to improve the accuracy of beam dosimetry.Materials and Methods: Liac accelerator head was modeled using the BEAMnrcMonte Carlo simulation system. Phase-space files were generated at...