Room 202
Imaging modalities including CT, MRI, and PET play important roles throughout the entire radiation therapy planning and delivery process. Application of these modalities to radiation therapy presents unique challenges less commonly encountered or relevant in diagnostic imaging. For example, artifact-free images with high spatial fidelity providing electron density or stopping power information are required for accurate dose calculations. Accurate segmentation of small diameter brachytherapy applicators requires high resolution images free of artifacts. However, spatial fidelity may be compromised due to geometric distortions in MRI, artifacts from prostheses or metal brachytherapy applicators can degrade CT image quality or bias electron density information, and poor spatial and temporal resolution in PET can contribute to registration uncertainty that degrades target delineation accuracy. This joint therapy-imaging educational symposium will cover a wide array of challenges in CT, MRI, and PET specific to radiation therapy. Imaging physicists will review the sources of imaging challenges and artifacts from first principles of data acquisition, image reconstruction, and hardware considerations. Speakers will then present possible solutions to remedy each concern. Collaboration between therapeutic medical physicists and imaging physicists may improve image quality and patient care in radiation oncology.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand CT, MRI, and PET imaging challenges in radiation therapy and the potential implications
2. Understand the root cause of each challenge by reviewing the fundamentals of data acquisition, image reconstruction, and hardware limitations
3. Learn solutions and best practices from imaging physicists to remedy each clinical challenge
Not Applicable / None Entered.
Not Applicable / None Entered.