The Remove-the-Mask Open-Source head and neck Surface-Guided radiation therapy system

Youssef Ben Bouchta ¹, Mark Gardner ¹, Chandrima Sengupta ¹

⁰The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.

Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology +

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February 8, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

The new Remove the Mask (RtM) Surface Guided Radiotherapy system offers accurate head and neck cancer treatment. This open-source system achieves sub-millimetre accuracy, meeting international guidelines for patient safety.

Area Of Science

Medical Physics
Radiotherapy Technology
Image-Guided Interventions

Background

Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT) for head and neck cancer presents challenges due to obstructions and non-rigid facial motion.
Maintaining surface accuracy is crucial for effective radiotherapy delivery in this region.

Purpose Of The Study

To develop and benchmark the Remove the Mask (RtM) SGRT system.
To address specific challenges in head and neck cancer radiotherapy using an open-source solution.

Main Methods

Benchmarking the RtM SGRT system using a head phantom on a robotic motion platform.
Assessing system accuracy in ten human volunteers using a commercial motion capture system for ground truth.
Inducing unidirectional shifts and reproducing real head motion traces.

Main Results

The RtM SGRT system demonstrated a mean tracking error of -0.1 ± 0.4 mm for translations and 0.0 ± 0.2° for rotations.
Similar accuracy was observed in head phantom measurements.
Forced facial motion led to reduced tracking accuracy, while overall sub-millimetre accuracy was achieved.

Conclusions

The RtM SGRT system is a low-cost, easily buildable, and open-source solution.
It achieves accuracy meeting international commissioning guidelines for radiotherapy.
Its design facilitates the development of novel surface tracking techniques.

Keywords:

Head And Neck Radiotherapy Image-Guided Radiotherapy Intra-Fraction Motion Monitoring Open-Source Surface-Guided Radiotherapy