Radiation therapy
Radiotherapy, particle therapy, ultrasound therapy and more
Talking point
Talking point RSS feedSRS and SBRT: safety first
Jun 28, 2011 (1 comment)
Stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy come with tight margins of error and require robust quality assurance. Timothy Solberg explains how institutes can best meet these requirements.
Small-animal irradiation: precision platforms emerge
Jun 6, 2011
Research platforms for small-animal irradiation should play a central role in the development of new radiotherapy modalities. Frank Verhaegen of the Maastro Clinic examines the emergence of such systems.
MRI-linac: a progress update
May 13, 2011
Researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht are developing an integrated MRI-linac for real-time image guidance during radiotherapy. Project leaders Jan Lagendijk and Bas Raaymakers discuss the system's progress.
Small field dosimetry: challenges and progress
Mar 8, 2011
As radiation treatments increasingly employ small fields, there's a growing need to address the challenges associated with small field dosimetry. Mania Aspradakis and John Byrne explain.
Rotational IMRT: exploring the limits
Feb 7, 2011
Is rotational IMRT always the optimum radiotherapy delivery choice, and if so, why? Markus Alber takes a closer look.
PlanetHPC: what's next for high-performance computing?
Jan 5, 2011 (1 comment)
How can developments in high-performance computing help medical physics? PlanetHPC wants to hear your views.
Framework eases multicentric in silico planning studies
Nov 11, 2010
The MISTIR framework provides an ideal basis for comparing radiotherapy treatment planning in multicentric in silico clinical trials. In a recent Green Journal paper, Erik Roelofs and co-authors explain the rationale.
ITART: exploiting imaging for radiotherapy's needs
Oct 4, 2010
ITART 2010 examined how imaging can be employed to improve the efficacy of radiation therapy. Robert Jeraj and Steve Bowen report on the meeting's highlights.
Damage limitation: the case for particle therapy
Sep 3, 2010
Treating tumours with hadrons rather than X-rays has many benefits for patients, as John Gordon explains.
A capital week for Canadian medical physicists
Jul 16, 2010
The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists held its annual scientific meeting last month in Ottawa. Malcolm McEwen of the National Research Council Canada reports on the event's highlights.
Proton therapy: scattering versus scanning
May 28, 2010
Varian's Marcel Marc and Armin Langenegger take a look at the pros and cons of scattering- and scanning-based proton therapy techniques.
Radiotherapy safety: the key role of QA
Apr 29, 2010 (1 comment)
To prevent radiation therapy errors and accidents, quality assurance programmes must be appropriately structured and independently audited, recommends MD Anderson's Geoffrey Ibbott.
WIMP 2010: a cool connection
Mar 30, 2010
Last month, around 60 physicists attended the Winter Institute of Medical Physics, to catch up on the latest developments in radiotherapy and medical imaging, and hone their snowboarding and skiing skills alongside.
MR-guidance: the next step for IGRT?
Feb 25, 2010
As imaging becomes an indispensable part of the radiotherapy process, will MR-guided treatment prove the way forward?
Molecular imaging: a cancer biomarker
Jan 19, 2010
As cancer therapies become increasingly individualized, functional and molecular imaging can play a key role in directing treatment and monitoring early response. David Mankoff from the University of Washington explains.
Proton therapy: future directions
Dec 16, 2009
What does the future hold for proton therapy, and which technologies will enable its progression? An expert panel discusses.
In vivo dosimetry: implementation issues
Oct 28, 2009
In vivo radiotherapy dosimetry has a great deal to offer, so why is it not more widely deployed? Writing in the British Journal of Radiology, Craig Edwards takes a closer look.
Bringing medical physics to the developing world
Sep 25, 2009
Setting up medical physics facilities in developing countries requires not only access to appropriate systems, but also effective training of staff to operate and maintain this equipment. Henry Lawrence discusses his experiences.
Radiation therapy risks: prioritizing patient safety
Aug 4, 2009
In a comprehensive review of radiotherapy safety incidents, Jesmin Shafiq and Michael Barton reveal that although errors leading to serious incidents are rare, it's vital that treatment centres implement and continually monitor risk-reducing measures.
Volumetric-modulated arc therapy: its role in radiation therapy
Jun 25, 2009
VMAT is currently a hot topic in radiotherapy. But it's still lacking a universal theory relating the resulting dose distribution and clinical outcome to input parameters, explains Steve Webb.