Neural signals-based respiratory motion tracking: a prospective review

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Neuroscience
• Radiotherapy Technology

Background:

• Respiratory motion tracking is vital for accurate thoracoabdominal radiotherapy.
• System latency in medical linear accelerators limits current motion tracking precision.
• Neural signals preceding respiratory motion offer a potential solution to mitigate latency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review technical challenges in using neural signals for respiratory motion tracking.
• To explore potential solutions for translating neural signal-based tracking into clinical practice.
• To address translational bottlenecks in radiotherapy.

Main Methods:

• Prospective review of existing literature and technologies.
• Analysis of real-time neural signal decoding techniques.
• Evaluation of challenges in integrating neural signals into radiotherapy systems.

Main Results:

• Neural signals precede respiratory motion, offering predictive capability.
• Real-time decoding of respiratory-related neural signals is technically challenging.
• Current challenges surpass those in conventional imaging-based tracking.

Conclusions:

• Neural signal-based respiratory motion tracking holds promise for enhancing radiotherapy accuracy.
• Overcoming real-time decoding challenges is crucial for clinical translation.
• Further research is needed to bridge the gap between technology and clinical application.