The use of IORT as a treatment modality for patients with close or positive margins has increased over the past decade. For situations where a flat area (up to 6 cm in diameter) has to be treated intraoperatively, new applicators for superficial treatment with a miniature X-ray source (INTRABEAM system) were developed. Here we report our evaluation of the dosimetric characteristics of these new...

OBJECTIVE We present a new technique of 3-dimensional computed tomography-guided interstitial (IS) brachytherapy (BT) for locally advanced cervical cancer, offering a more advantageous clinical treatment approach. MATERIALS/METHODS Interstitial BT was performed using an applicator combining uterine tandem and metal needles; needles were inserted freehand under real-time 3-dimensional computed...

Standard applicators for cervix cancer brachytherapy (BT) do not always enable a sufficient radiation dose coverage of the target structure (HR-CTV). The aim of this study was to develop methodology for building models of the BT target from a cohort of cervix cancer patients, which would enable BT applicator testing. In this paper we propose two model types, a spatial distribution model and a p...

We investigate the feasibility of trans-rectal optical tomography of the prostate using an endo-rectal near-infrared (NIR) applicator that is to be integrated with a trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) probe. Integration with TRUS ensures accurate endo-rectal positioning of the NIR applicator and the utility of using TRUS spatial prior information to guide NIR image reconstruction. The prostate NIR ...

Monte Carlo calculations of the absorbed dose at various points of a brachytherapy anthropomorphic phantom are presented. The phantom walls and internal structures are made of polymethylmethacrylate and its external shape was taken from a female Alderson phantom. A complete Fletcher-Green type applicator with the uterine tandem was fixed at the bottom of the phantom reproducing a typical geomet...

background: the dose rate distribution delivered by a low dose rate 137cs pellet source, a spherical source used within the source trains of the selectron gynecological brachytherapy system, was investigated using the mcnp4c monte carlo code. materials and methods: the calculations were performed in both water and plexiglas and the absolute dose rate distribution for a single pellet source and ...

Beta-ray emitting Ru-106/Rh-106 ophthalmic applicators have been used for close to 4 decades in the treatment of choroidal melanoma. The form factor of these applicators is a spherically concave silver bowl with an inner radius of curvature between 12 and 14 mm, and a total shell thickness of 1 mm. The radioactive nuclide is deposited in a layer 0.1 mm below the concave surface of the applicato...

The objective of this work is to evaluate dosimetric impact of multilumen balloon applicator rotation in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for breast cancer. Highly asymmetrical dose distribution was generated for patients A and B, depending upon applicator proximity to skin and rib. Both skin and rib spacing was ≤ 0.7 cm for A; only rib spacing was ≤ 0.7 cm for B. Thirty-five rotation scenari...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To assess the dosimetric flexibility of a dual balloon brachytherapy applicator developed for the treatment of anorectal lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Different amounts of water were infused into the inner and outer balloon separately to study the asymmetrical distribution of the catheter, the radial distance of the active source channel to the inner surface of the glo...