AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To study the geometric uncertainties in the treatment and evaluate the adequacy of the margins employed for planning target volume (PTV) generation in the treatment of focal conformal radiotherapy (CRT) for patients with brain tumors treated with different head support systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study population included 11 patients with brain tumors who were to be...

This work validates the use of an amorphous-silicon, flat-panel electronic portal imaging device (a-Si EPID) for use as a gauge of patient or phantom radiological thickness, as an alternative to dosimetry. The response of the a-Si EPID is calibrated by adapting a technique previously applied to scanning liquid ion chamber EPIDs, and the stability, accuracy and reliability of this calibration ar...

PURPOSE To investigate the use of a commercially available video-based EPID for in vivo dosimetry during treatment of prostate cancer patients. METHODS For 10 prostate cancer patients, the inter-fraction variation within measured portal dose images (PDIs) was assessed and measured PDIs were compared with corresponding predicted PDIs based on the planning CT scan of the patient. RESULTS For ...

When using an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) for dosimetric verifications, the calibration of the sensitive area is of paramount importance. Two calibration methods are generally adopted: one, empirical, based on an external reference dosimeter or on multiple narrow beam irradiations, and one based on the EPID response simulation. In this paper we present an alternative approach based ...

BACKGROUND Set-up errors are an inherent part of radiation treatment process. Coverage of target volume is a direct function of set-up margins, which should be optimized to prevent inadvertent irradiation of adjacent normal tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate three-dimensional (3D) set-up errors and propose optimum margins for target volume coverage in head and neck radiotherapy. M...

PURPOSE To measure the interfraction setup variation of patient undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of head and neck cancer. The data was used to define adequate treatment CTV-to-PTV margin. MATERIALS AND METHODS During March to September 2006, data was collected from 9 head and neck cancer patients treated with dynamic IMRT using 6 MV X-ray beam from Varian Clinac 23EX. W...

This paper presents the findings from the first stage of a preliminary study which assessed the potential for an electronic commerce portal in Sri Lanka’s Central Province. Sri Lanka is an island state of contrasts in terms of its electronic commerce and overall ICT capability. In the Capital of Colombo, ICT and electronic commerce capability are relatively sophisticated while in regional Sri L...

This study evaluated the agreement of fiducial marker localization between two modalities--an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)--using a low-dose, half-rotation scanning protocol. Twenty-five prostate cancer patients with implanted fiducial markers were enrolled. Before each daily treatment, EPID and half-rotation CBCT images were acquired. Transla...

A recent control system update for Elekta linear accelerators includes the ability to deliver volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with continuously variable dose rate (CVDR), rather than a number of fixed binned dose rates (BDR). The capacity to select from a larger range of dose rates allows the linac to maintain higher gantry speeds, resulting in faster, smoother deliveries. The purpose o...