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TH‐C‐214‐02: MRI for Radiation Treatment Planning
Author(s) -
Cao Y
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.3613531
Subject(s) - radiation treatment planning , medical physics , magnetic resonance imaging , computer science , radiation therapy , brachytherapy , medical imaging , medicine , radiology
The advantages of MRI for radiation treatment planning, such as soft tissue discrimination and multi‐contrast capability, are well recognized. It is routine practice to use MRI for tumor target definition of brain tumors, with or without a corresponding CT scan. Superior soft tissue visualization has led to the emergence of MRI‐guided brachytherapy for cervical and prostate cancers. In addition, functional and physiological MR imaging can aid assessment of tumor and normal tissue response for adaptive RT as well as pre‐treatment boost target definition. Several past limitations of MRI have hindered its wide application in radiation therapy, including concerns about geometric accuracy, high resolution volumetric acquisition, acquisition speed, motion‐sensitivity, small bore size, and lack of definition of bony structures and electron density. Many of these shortcomings have been overcome or will be overcome by new MRI technologies. This lecture will provide an overview on new MRI technologies and their application for radiation treatment planning. The limitations of these techniques will also be discussed. Learning objectives: 1. Understand new MRI technologies that are relevant to radiation treatment planning; 2. Understand the influence of imaging parameters on image quality and contrast. 3. Understand clinical applications and limitations.