ABSTRACT
The surface topography of a patient can be determined by photogrammetry before beginning radiotherapy. The source light of the therapy unit or simulator is used to project a grid pattern onto the patient, and this is then photographed together with control points consisting of miniature light bulbs mounted on a frame suspended from the wedge slot of the therapy machine. When the photograph is projected onto a graphics terminal for data entry into a computer, the three-dimensional topography of the patient's surface can be reconstructed as a two-dimensional matrix of discrete points. A computer algorithm can then design a tissue compensator to fit the individual patient.
Subject(s)
Photogrammetry , Photography , Radiotherapy Dosage , Humans , Mathematics , Models, Anatomic , Patient Care PlanningABSTRACT
A computer algorithm for designing sheet lead tissue compensators is described. Corrections are made for scatter within the radiation field as well as the shape of the patient for the mantle fields used in treating Hodgkin's disease. The method was tested experimentally with a phantom and found to be clinically acceptable. The advantages of employing this technique with parallel opposed fields are emphasized.