J Appl Clin Med Phys
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J Appl Clin Med Phys · Sep 2017
Preparation and fabrication of a full-scale, sagittal-sliced, 3D-printed, patient-specific radiotherapy phantom.
Patient-specific 3D-printed phantoms have many potential applications, both research and clinical. However, they have been limited in size and complexity because of the small size of most commercially available 3D printers as well as material warping concerns. We aimed to overcome these limitations by developing and testing an effective 3D printing workflow to fabricate a large patient-specific radiotherapy phantom with minimal warping errors. In doing so, we produced a full-scale phantom of a real postmastectomy patient. ⋯ Three-dimensional printing the patient-specific phantom in sagittal slices allowed a large phantom to be fabricated with high accuracy. Our results demonstrate that our 3D printing workflow can be used to make large, accurate, patient-specific phantoms at 100% infill with minimal material warping error.
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J Appl Clin Med Phys · Sep 2017
Practice GuidelineAAPM-RSS Medical Physics Practice Guideline 9.a. for SRS-SBRT.
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education, and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8,000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States. ⋯ The following terms are used in the AAPM practice guidelines: Must and Must Not: Used to indicate that adherence to the recommendation is considered necessary to conform to this practice guideline. Should and Should Not: Used to indicate a prudent practice to which exceptions may occasionally be made in appropriate circumstances. Approved by AAPM Professional Council 3-31-2017 and Executive Committee 4-4-2017.
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J Appl Clin Med Phys · Jul 2017
Practice GuidelineAAPM medical physics practice guideline 6.a.: Performance characteristics of radiation dose index monitoring systems.
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8,000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States. ⋯ The medical physics practice guidelines recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic and therapeutic radiology requires specific training, skills, and techniques, as described in each document. Reproduction or modification of the published practice guidelines and technical standards by those entities not providing these services is not authorized. The following terms are used in the AAPM practice guidelines: •Must and Must Not: Used to indicate that adherence to the recommendation is considered necessary to conform to this practice guideline. •Should and Should Not: Used to indicate a prudent practice to which exceptions may occasionally be made in appropriate circumstances.
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J Appl Clin Med Phys · Mar 2017
Linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the treatment of refractory trigeminal neuralgia: Detailed description of SRS procedure and reported clinical outcomes.
To present our linac-based SRS procedural technique for medically and/or surgically refractory trigeminal neuralgia (TN) treatment and simultaneously report our clinical outcomes. ⋯ Linac-based SRS for medically and/or surgically refractory TN is a fast, effective, and safe treatment option for patients with typical TN who had excellent response rates. Patients, who achieve response to treatment, often have durable response rates with moderate actuarial pain recurrence free survival. Longer follow-up interval is anticipated to confirm our clinical observations.
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J Appl Clin Med Phys · Mar 2017
Perturbation effects of the carbon fiber-PEEK screws on radiotherapy dose distribution.
Radiation therapy, in conjunction with surgical implant fixation, is a common combined treatment in cases of bone metastases. However, metal implants generally used in orthopedic implants perturb radiation dose distributions. Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) material has been recently introduced for production of intramedullary nails and plates. ⋯ CFR-PEEK implants have good prospects for use in radiotherapy because of minimal dose alteration and the potential for more accurate treatment planning. This could favorably influence treatment efficiency and decrease possible over- and underdose of adjacent tissues. The use of such implants has potential clinical advantages in the treatment of bone metastases.