Radiology Key

Introduction Patient immobilization     Patient head shells      Thermoplastic shells      Non-shell fixation systems      Stereotactic frames      Body immobilization  Volume definitions Non-CT contouring devices Physical simulation     Localization  Related posts: descriptors of the radionuclide imaging…

Conclusion Linear accelerators have undoubtedly become the mainstay of radiotherapy delivery in the developed world with cobalt teletherapy machines providing simplicity and economic benefits in the less affluent parts of…

Chapter 4. Another significant aspect with regard to radiation protection is the room design described below. However, besides these aspects, there is a need for protection of the staff and…

Commissioning new equipment Following the supply of a treatment machine, it is essential that the characteristics of the machine’s beams and the performance of the machine is established by measurement….

Image guidance Megavoltage imaging to verify patient set-up and the location of critical tissue in relation to the radiation field has been carried out for many years with slow film….

Custom teletherapy machines Although the gantry mounted medical linear accelerator has found extensive use, there have been treatment techniques which have required the adaptation of the linear accelerator and also…

General There is a variety of ionizing radiation beams used in radiotherapy. They range from low energy x-rays involving accelerating voltages as low as 10   kV to megavoltage x-ray beams with…

Megavoltage linear accelerator machines The workhorse of modern radiotherapy is the linear accelerator which owes its development to the pioneers who worked to produce higher energy beams than the kilovoltage…

General Kilovoltage x-ray beam machines     Tube stand      High voltage circuits      Collimation      Beam energy      Control of output      Skin and eye shielding      Calibration of dose output  Megavoltage linear accelerator machines     General layout…