OBJECTIVE To evaluate the interindividual and intraindividual applicator position variability in high dose rate ring and tandem intracavitary brachytherapy applications in locally advanced cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eight patients with locally advanced cervical cancer formed the study population. They had been treated in Dokuz Eylül University Department of Radiation Oncology betwe...

Children up to 6 years of age who lived with pesticide applicators were monitored for increased risk of pesticide exposure: 48 pesticide applicator and 14 reference families were recruited from an agricultural region of Washington State in June 1995. A total of 160 spot urine samples were collected from 88 children, including repeated measures 3-7 days apart. Samples were assayed by gas chromat...

This work demonstrates the feasibility of a hybrid radiofrequency (RF) applicator that supports magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR controlled targeted RF heating at ultrahigh magnetic fields (B0≥7.0T). For this purpose a virtual and an experimental configuration of an 8-channel transmit/receive (TX/RX) hybrid RF applicator was designed. For TX/RX bow tie antenna electric dipoles were employ...

PURPOSE During intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) for cervical cancer, the choice of applicator system remains rather arbitrary. However, as the applicator geometry may play an important role in dose distribution, thereby improving the therapeutic ratio, this study was conducted to compare the Manchester-style and Fletcher-style applicator systems. MATERIAL AND METHODS After completion of EBR...

PURPOSE To evaluate a method of reducing computed tomography (CT) metal artifacts due to the Fletcher-Suit applicator. METHODS AND MATERIALS We apply a projection-interpolation algorithm to CT images containing artifacts from the brachytherapy applicator. Regions of projection data containing the applicator are interpolated, removing the metal from the projections. A new image is then reconst...

BACKGROUND For brachytherapy of cervical cancer, applicator shifts can not be avoided. The present investigation concerned Utrecht interstitial applicator shifts and their effects on organ movement and DVH parameters during 3D CT-based HDR brachytherapy of cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS After the applicator being implanted, CT imaging was achieved for oncologist contouring CTVhr, CTVi...

Accounting for brachytherapy applicator attenuation is part of the recommendations from the recent report of AAPM Task Group 186. To do so, model based dose calculation algorithms require accurate modelling of the applicator geometry. This can be non-trivial in the case of irregularly shaped applicators such as the Fletcher Williamson gynaecological applicator or balloon applicators with possib...

In CT anatomy-based inverse treatment planning of interstitial high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy planning, the planning target volume (PTV) delineated by the radiation oncologist includes the applicator volume. The applicator volume can be eliminated with the help of two methods: one based on Boolean operations and the other using the erasing option of the application software. Both methods ar...

Introduction: Brachytherapy is a type of radiotherapy in which radioactive sources are used in proximity of tumors normally for treatment of malignancies in the head, prostate and cervix. Materials and Methods: The Cs-137 Selectron source is a low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy source used in a remote afterloading system for treatment of different cancers. This system uses active and inactive sp...

Purpose This study is intended to compare dose-volume parameters evaluated using different forward planning- optimization techniques, involving two applicator systems in intracavitary brachytherapy for cervical cancer. It looks for the best applicator-optimization combination to fulfill recommended dose-volume objectives in different high-dose-rate (HDR) fractionation schedules. Material and ...