Radiotherapy treatment planning for patients fitted with prostheses

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiotherapy
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Prosthetic devices are increasingly used in patients undergoing radiation therapy.
• The materials and density of prostheses can significantly affect radiation dose distribution.
• Accurate radiotherapy treatment planning requires accounting for these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of common prosthetic materials on radiotherapy treatment planning.
• To develop and demonstrate a method for estimating prosthesis density in vivo.
• To illustrate the effects of prostheses on representative radiotherapy plans.

Main Methods:

• Tabulation of compositions for commonly used prosthetic materials.
• Generation of plots illustrating radiation perturbations caused by absorbers at 8 MV.
• Demonstration of a technique for in-patient prosthesis density estimation.
• Illustration of effects on sample radiotherapy plans.

Main Results:

• Common prosthetic materials exhibit varying radiodensities.
• Prostheses can cause significant perturbations in radiation dose distributions.
• The demonstrated technique allows for estimation of prosthesis density.
• Radiotherapy plans are demonstrably affected by the presence of prostheses.

Conclusions:

• The presence of prostheses necessitates careful consideration in radiotherapy planning.
• Accurate density estimation of prostheses is crucial for precise dose delivery.
• Understanding these effects can lead to optimized treatment strategies and improved patient outcomes.