External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is an effective and widely accepted form of treatment for many types of cancer that requires extensive planning. Unfortunately, current treatment planning systems have limited or no available visual aid that combines patient volumetric models extracted from patient specific CT data with the treatment device in an inclusive 3D interactive simulation. We are...

A nswer: Critical structures are spared from the harmful effects of radiation therapy through precise treatment planning that uses appropriate beam angles and blocking techniques. Although radiation therapy has proven to be a beneficial treatment modality for a number of benign and malignant diseases, tissue dose tolerance limitations must be considered carefully when planning and prescribing r...

Introduction: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is one of the possible complications of radiotherapy treatment of brain tumors. The auditory system of patients with brain tumors often is placed inside of radiation field and receives a significant amount of radiation dose resulting in hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to compare contouring and delivery dose to cochlea...

A significant and increasing number of patients receiving radiation therapy present with metal objects close to, or even within, the treatment area, resulting in artifacts in computed tomography (CT) imaging, which is the most commonly used imaging method for treatment planning in radiation therapy. In the presence of metal implants, such as dental fillings in treatment of head-and-neck tumors,...

We report on experience and insights gained from prototyping, for clinical radiation oncologists, a new access tool for the University of Washington Digital Anatomist information resources. This access tool is designed to integrate with a radiation therapy planning (RTP) system in use in a clinical setting. We hypothesize that the needs of practitioners in a clinical setting are different from ...

Image-based radiation treatment planning and localization have contributed to better targeting of the prostate and sparing of normal tissues. Guidelines are needed to address radiation dose delivery, including patient setup and immobilization, target volume definition, treatment planning, treatment delivery methods, and target localization. Guidelines for external-beam radiation treatment plann...