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Doctor reviewing a radiation treatment plan. In radiotherapy, radiation treatment planning (RTP) is the process in which a team consisting of radiation oncologists, radiation therapist, medical physicists and medical dosimetrists plan the appropriate external beam radiotherapy or internal brachytherapy treatment technique for a patient with cancer.
Modern radiation therapy relies on a CT scan to identify the tumor and surrounding normal structures and to perform dose calculations for the creation of a complex radiation treatment plan. The patient receives small skin marks to guide the placement of treatment fields. [10]
Currently, certain radiation therapy techniques employ the process of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). This form of radiation treatment uses computers and linear accelerators to sculpt a three-dimensional radiation dose map, specific to the target's location, shape and motion characteristics. Because of the level of precision required ...
A rendering of a new radiation therapy device, developed by Middleton-based Leo Cancer Care, that allows patients to get radiation while sitting upright. UW Health will become the first in the ...
Radiation dosimetry in the fields of health physics and radiation protection is the measurement, calculation and assessment of the ionizing radiation dose absorbed by an object, usually the human body. This applies both internally, due to ingested or inhaled radioactive substances, or externally due to irradiation by sources of radiation.
Most radiation therapy is planned using the results of a 3D CT scan. A 3D scan largely presents a snapshot of the body at a particular point in time, however due to the time of the acquisition, in which the patient is likely to have moved in some way (even if only breathing), there will be an element of blurring or averaging in the 3D scan. [ 6 ]
Radionuclide therapy can be used to treat conditions such as hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, skin cancer and blood disorders. In nuclear medicine therapy, the radiation treatment dose is administered internally (e.g. intravenous or oral routes) or externally direct above the area to treat in form of a compound (e.g. in case of skin cancer).
This imaging information is fed into the software to allow real-time tracking and sub-millimetric accuracy during radiotherapy treatments. Information on movements is fed back to the radiation therapist, who is alerted if the patient moves from the optimal position (as determined by their treatment plan).