Premium
Emerging role of MRI in radiation therapy
Author(s) -
Chandarana Hersh,
Wang Hesheng,
Tijssen R.H.N.,
Das Indra J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.26271
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , radiation therapy , medicine , radiation treatment planning , medical physics , workflow , radiology , image guided radiation therapy , medical imaging , computer science , database
Advances in multimodality imaging, providing accurate information of the irradiated target volume and the adjacent critical structures or organs at risk (OAR), has made significant improvements in delivery of the external beam radiation dose. Radiation therapy conventionally has used computed tomography (CT) imaging for treatment planning and dose delivery. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides unique advantages: added contrast information that can improve segmentation of the areas of interest, motion information that can help to better target and deliver radiation therapy, and posttreatment outcome analysis to better understand the biologic effect of radiation. To take advantage of these and other potential advantages of MRI in radiation therapy, radiologists and MRI physicists will need to understand the current radiation therapy workflow and speak the same language as our radiation therapy colleagues. This review article highlights the emerging role of MRI in radiation dose planning and delivery, but more so for MR‐only treatment planning and delivery. Some of the areas of interest and challenges in implementing MRI in radiation therapy workflow are also briefly discussed. Level of Evidence: 5 Technical Efficacy: Stage 5 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;48:1468–1478