introduction: the selection of suitable beam angles and weights in external-beam radiotherapy is at present generally based upon the experience of the planner. therefore, automated selection of beam angles and weights in forward-planned radiotherapy will be beneficial. material and methods: in this work, an efficient method is presented within the matlab environment to investigate how to improv...

Since the clinical implementation of novel rotational forms of intensity-modulated radiotherapy, a variety of planning studies have been published that reinforce the major selling points of the technique. Namely, comparable or even improved dose distributions with a reduction in both monitor units and treatment times, when compared with static gantry intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Although t...

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...

OBJECTIVE Planning of breast radiation for patients with breast conserving surgery often relies on clinical markers such as scars. Lately, surgical clips have been used to identify the tumor location. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geographic miss index (GMI) and the normal tissue index (NTI) for the electron boost in breast cancer treatment plans with and without surgical clips....

INTRODUCTION This study examines and compares the dosimetric quality of radiotherapy treatment plans for prostate carcinoma across a cohort of 163 patients treated across five centres: 83 treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), 33 treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and 47 treated with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). METHODS Treatment plan qual...

We address the problem of planning an effective IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy) treatment for cancer. IMRT is a modern method of radiotherapy. It irradiates cancerous tissues by administering lethal dose of radiation to those cells, while sparing the healthy tissues. This method’s greatest advantage is the large degree of freedom which it allows the treatment planning, but it is also it...

The purpose of this study was to explore how radiologist and oncologists may work together efficiently and effectively to define target volume for radiotherapy treatment. Ten patients were chosen at random from those needing radiotherapy between December 2004 and June 2005. Sites of primary cancer included head and neck, pelvis, lung and brain. Diagnostic scans were available on the hospital PA...

In proton radiotherapy, a proton generates secondary neutrons and photons in a patient’s body. This leads to irradiation of the area in proximity to the target region with incidental doses caused by secondary radiation in addition to the therapeutic dose. However in current treatment planning of proton radiotherapy, conventional dose estimation algorithms like the pencil beam method can not est...

Background: We have validated the monitor unit calculations from a commercially available treatment planning system (TPS) for three intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) planning techniques for tangential breast irradiation by using ionization chamber measurements. Materials and Methods: Treatment plans were generated for forty-two breast patients by a forward planned field in field ...