An In-Bore Audio-Visual Respiratory Coaching Projector for Ring Gantry Systems

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Imaging
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Respiratory motion significantly impacts the quality of medical imaging and radiation therapy delivery.
• Accurate patient coaching is crucial for minimizing respiratory artifacts in four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) and during treatments with ring gantry linacs.
• Existing respiratory coaching methods may lack integration or real-time feedback within the imaging bore.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate an in-bore audio-visual respiratory coaching projector system.
• To assess the feasibility and practicality of integrating this projector with ring gantry linacs and 4D CT systems.
• To provide real-time visual cues to patients for improved respiratory control during scans.

Main Methods:

• Developed an in-bore audio-visual respiratory coaching system using a commercially available mobile projector with an integrated computer.
• Installed a dedicated respiratory coaching application on the projector.
• Positioned the projector on the patient couch to display visual coaching content on the inner bore wall.

Main Results:

• The proposed projector system was successfully tested in conjunction with both a ring gantry linac and a 4D CT unit.
• The workflow demonstrated the practical application of the in-bore coaching system.
• Initial results confirmed the feasibility of using projected visual cues for respiratory coaching.

Conclusions:

• The in-bore audio-visual respiratory coaching projector is a feasible and practical tool for clinical use.
• This system offers a novel approach to patient coaching, potentially improving image quality and treatment accuracy.
• Further studies are warranted to quantify the impact on image quality and patient outcomes.