A method for end-to-end spatial accuracy quality assurance for radiosurgery
Unmet Need
Radiation therapy is an essential element of cancer treatment that benefits 4 million diagnosed patients every year. The ability to deliver complex three-dimensional distributions of dose that conform to even irregularly shaped lesions in the patent can help to spare nearby critical tissues, but also requires increased scrutiny of the accuracy of the treatment. While 3D dosimetry holds promise to verify a full volumetric dose in a single measurement, in order for 3D dosimetry to be more routinely adapted there’s a need for technologies that reduce the burden associated with the need for specialized equipment while maintaining certainty for the analysis and spatial accuracy.
Technology
A collaboration between researchers at Duke and the University of British Columbia have developed a method to quantify the output of a radiotherapy 3D dosimetry measurement by simply using the on-board kV imaging system. This can be applied to measure the dose directly, or verify the spatial accuracy of the radiotherapy delivery, such as validating multi-target spatial alignment for multi-target radiosurgery.
Advantages
- High spatial resolution and comprehensive dosimetric volume
- Accommodates remote dosimetry
- Eliminates the need to register the treatment plan and the measured dose distribution