The Delta(4) diode array phantom (Scandidos, Uppsala, Sweden) was evaluated for verification of segmental intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) on an Elekta linear accelerator (Crawley UK). The device was tested for angular sensitivity by irradiating it from 36 different gantry angles, and the responses of the device to various step-and-shoot s...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to compare the two irradiation modes with (FF) and without flattening filter (FFF) for three different treatment techniques for simultaneous integrated boost radiation therapy of patients with right sided breast cancer. METHODS An Elekta Synergy linac with Agility collimating device is used to simulate the treatment of 10 patients. Six plans were generated ...

Purpose: To compare target coverage and organ at risk (OAR) sparing in the supine and prone positions with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in lowand high-risk prostate radiotherapy cases. Materials and Methods: Using magnetic resonance images of five healthy volunteers, six treatment plans (supine ...

BACKGROUND The modulated arc (mARC) technique has recently been introduced by Siemens as an analogue to VMAT treatment. However, up to now only one certified treatment planning system supports mARC planning. We therefore present a conversion algorithm capable of converting IMRT plans created by any treatment planning system into mARC plans, with the hope of expanding the availability of mARC to...

BACKGROUND Radiotherapy technology is expanding rapidly. Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) technologies such as RapidArc® (RA) may be a more efficient way of delivering intensity-modulated radiotherapy-like (IM) treatments. This study is an audit of the RA experience in an Australian department with a planning and economic comparison to IM. METHODS 30 consecutive prostate cancer patient...

Many important dosimetry audit networks for radiotherapy have their roots in clinical trial quality assurance (QA). In both scenarios it is essential to test two issues: does the treatment plan conform with the clinical requirements and is the plan a reasonable representation of what is actually delivered to a patient throughout their course of treatment. Part of a sound quality program would b...

PURPOSE Radiochromic film provides dose measurement at high spatial resolution, but often is not preferred for routine evaluation of patient-specific intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans owing to ease-of-use factors. The authors have established an efficient protocol that combines calibration and measurement in a single scan and enables measurement results to be obtained in less t...

Prostate cancer is the one of the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men throughout the world. In the recent days, prostate cancer can be managed by several options such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. Radiotherapy is considered as one of the popular options to treat prostate cancer due to excellent survival rate and fewer side effects. The field of radiotherapy is evolving since...

Volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) is an iteration of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), both of which deliver highly conformal dose distributions. Studies have shown the superiority of VMAT and IMRT in comparison with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) in planning target volume (PTV) coverage and organs-at-risk (OARs) sparing. This is the first study examining the be...

INTRODUCTION Recent studies have suggested reducing the dose submandibular glands receive when patients undergo head and neck radiotherapy can play a crucial role in preventing xerostomia. However, they are traditionally not spared due to concern that target coverage may be compromised. We investigated the possibility of sparing the contralateral submandibular gland (cSM) by utilising modern pl...