Abstract
Full utilization of the precision of newer radiation therapy devices requires patient contours drawn with greater accuracy than is possible with the conventional lead wire technique. Polaroid photographs can introduce large errors due to distortion and small image size. Techniques including electromechanical or optical devices and CT scans offer improved accuracy, but often at added expense. A method for obtaining contours has been developed which utilizes a treatment planning minicomputer (equipped with an analog-to-digital converter and plotter) and a commercially available ultrasound B-scanning arm. Voltages corresponding to the X–Y position of the tip of the scanning arm are fed from the scanner to the A/D interface, smoothed, scaled, and plotted. The resulting drawing is a full scale external patient contour. The accuracy of this method is compared to alternative techniques.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 309-311 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Medical physics |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 1979 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
- EQUIPMENT
- IMAGE SCANNERS
- LEAD WIRE TECHNIQUE
- PATIENT CONTOURS
- RADIOTHERAPY
- TOMEGRAPHY
- TREATMENT PLANNING
- ULTRASONIC WAVES
- ULTRASOUND B−SCANNING ARM
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging