Skip to main content

Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Arunachalam, K; Craciunescu, OI; Markewitz, EJ; Maccarini, PF; Schlorff, JL; Stauffer, PR
Published in: J Appl Clin Med Phys
September 6, 2012

A thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) was developed for simultaneous heat and brachytherapy treatment of chest wall (CW) recurrence of breast cancer. The ability to comfortably secure the applicator over the upper torso relative to the CW target throughout treatment is assessed on volunteers. Male and postmastectomy female volunteers were enrolled to evaluate applicator secure fit to CW. Female subjects with intact breast were also enrolled to assess the ability to treat challenging cases. Magnetic resonance (MR) images of volunteers wearing a TBSA over the upper torso were acquired once every 15 minutes for 90 minutes. Applicator displacement over this time period required for treatment preplanning and delivery was assessed using MR visible markers. Applicator comfort and tolerability were assessed using a questionnaire. Probability estimates of applicator displacements were used to investigate dosimetric impact for the worst-case variation in radiation source-to-skin distance for 5 and 10 mm deep targets spread 17 × 13 cm on a torso phantom. Average and median displacements along lateral and radial directions were less than 1.2 mm over 90 minutes for all volunteers. Maximum lateral and radial displacements were measured to be less than 1 and 1.5 mm, respectively, for all CW volunteers and less than 2 mm for intact breast volunteers, excluding outliers. No complaint of pain or discomfort was reported. Phantom treatment planning for the maximum displacement of 2 mm indicated < 10% increase in skin dose with < 5% loss of homogeneity index (HI) for -2 mm uniform HDR source displacement. For +2 mm uniform displacement, skin dose decreased and HI increased by 20%. The volunteer study demonstrated that such large and uniform displacements should be rare for CW subjects, and the measured variation is expected to be low for multifraction conformal brachytherapy treatment.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

J Appl Clin Med Phys

DOI

EISSN

1526-9914

Publication Date

September 6, 2012

Volume

13

Issue

5

Start / End Page

3845

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Thoracic Wall
  • Skin
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Patient Positioning
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Male
  • Hyperthermia, Induced
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Arunachalam, K., Craciunescu, O. I., Markewitz, E. J., Maccarini, P. F., Schlorff, J. L., & Stauffer, P. R. (2012). Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 13(5), 3845. https://doi.org/10.1120/jacmp.v13i5.3845
Arunachalam, Kavitha, Oana I. Craciunescu, Edward J. Markewitz, Paolo F. Maccarini, Jaime L. Schlorff, and Paul R. Stauffer. “Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects.J Appl Clin Med Phys 13, no. 5 (September 6, 2012): 3845. https://doi.org/10.1120/jacmp.v13i5.3845.
Arunachalam K, Craciunescu OI, Markewitz EJ, Maccarini PF, Schlorff JL, Stauffer PR. Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2012 Sep 6;13(5):3845.
Arunachalam, Kavitha, et al. “Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects.J Appl Clin Med Phys, vol. 13, no. 5, Sept. 2012, p. 3845. Pubmed, doi:10.1120/jacmp.v13i5.3845.
Arunachalam K, Craciunescu OI, Markewitz EJ, Maccarini PF, Schlorff JL, Stauffer PR. Preclinical assessment of comfort and secure fit of thermobrachytherapy surface applicator (TBSA) on volunteer subjects. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2012 Sep 6;13(5):3845.

Published In

J Appl Clin Med Phys

DOI

EISSN

1526-9914

Publication Date

September 6, 2012

Volume

13

Issue

5

Start / End Page

3845

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Thoracic Wall
  • Skin
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Patient Positioning
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Male
  • Hyperthermia, Induced
  • Humans