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A Holographic Augmented Reality Guidance System for Patient Alignment: A Feasibility Study
Rex Cardan1, Elizabeth L Covington1, Richard Popple1
1Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA.
Cureus
|May 31, 2021
Summary
Augmented reality holographic guidance systems show promise for radiotherapy patient alignment. While accurate for initial setup, the Microsoft HoloLens system requires further development for precise alignment tasks.
Area of Science:
- Medical Physics
- Radiotherapy Technology
- Augmented Reality
Background:
- Accurate patient alignment is critical for effective radiotherapy.
- Traditional alignment methods can be time-consuming and prone to error.
- Emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR) offer potential improvements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the accuracy of an AR holographic guidance system for patient alignment in radiotherapy.
- To determine the system's suitability for clinical use in radiation oncology.
Main Methods:
- A cubic phantom was scanned, and a 3D mesh was created.
- A Microsoft HoloLens application overlaid the 3D mesh as a hologram.
- Therapists aligned a physical phantom to the hologram using couch controls, with positional data recorded.
Main Results:
- The mean positional difference between the physical and holographic phantom was approximately 0.5-0.6 cm.
- Maximum positional differences reached up to 1.58 cm.
- The system demonstrated adequate accuracy for initial patient positioning.
Conclusions:
- Holographic AR guidance with Microsoft HoloLens is suitable for initial radiotherapy alignment.
- The system's accuracy is insufficient for fine alignment compared to X-ray imaging.
- Further refinement is needed to enhance precision for critical radiotherapy applications.
