a fiducial marker system using digital techniques

The goal of radiotherapy (RT) is to deliver maximum dose of the radiation to the target (cancerous tissue), and at the same time, minimizing the radiation dose to the normal tissue surrounding the tumor. The PTV margins of 3.0 mm, 3.3 mm and 4.0 mm in corresponding directions were calculated when FMs based electronic portal imaging was applied.Ĭonclusion: FMs based electronic portal imaging is an effective tool for prostate cancer IGRT.Įxternal beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is a well-established method of treating localized prostate cancer patients ( 1). Without IGRT, margins of 5.4 mm, 5.8 mm and 5.5 mm, in vertical, longitudinal and lateral directions, respectively, are needed for a 95% confidence level of complete clinical target volume (CTV) coverage in each treatment session. Results: FMs implantation was successful with an acceptable toxicity profile in all patients. Optimal PTV expansions were computed using van Herk formula. Daily pre-treatment electronic portal images were captured, and prostate position errors were corrected if they were greater than 2 mm along three translational directions. Prior to computed tomography planning, all patients were asked to report any complication associated with FMs implantation that have experienced to date. Methods: In this single institution, prospective, consecutive study, 27 patients underwent implantation of three-gold seed FMs into the prostate gland before prostate radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of fiducial markers (FMs) for electronic portal imaging in prostate cancer radiotherapy in term of evaluating the complications associated with FMs implantation, quantifying inter-fraction prostate motion, and determination of optimal planning target volume (PTV) margins. Background: Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is recommended to reduce the risk of geometrical miss when modern radiotherapy technologies with high grades of conformity are used.

A fiducial marker system using digital techniques